LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


From^  ^  ^  «s6 
A  Cloud  ^  ^ 
Of  Witnesses. 


Three  Hundred  and  Nine  Tributes 
to  tiie  Bible. 


DAVIS  WASGATT  CLARK. 


♦ 


ei«ei««ATi :  eaRTs  &  jEfiNifies. 

fiEW  gORK:  EATOM  &  MAIKS. 
1891 


COPYRIGHT, 

BY  CURTS  &  JENNINGS. 

1897. 


nr^mS  is  the  richest  compilation  of 
its  kind  that  has  yet  appeared. 
It  outnumbers  by  some  two  hundred 
quotations  the  largest  collection  now  in 
print.  It  is  unique  in  plan.  Its  value 
is  enhanced  by  an  introduction^  appen- 
dix, and  quadruple  cross  index.  It 
shows  at  a  glance  how  many  brilliant 
thinkers  have  reflected  upon  the  Bible, 
and  the  substance  of  their  thoughts  in 
pithy  sentences.  The  chronological 
notations  of  year  of  birth  and  death  in- 
dicate the  era  to  which  each  belongs. 
The  indexes  by  nationality  and  pro- 
fession serve  to  locate  authorities  still 
more  perfectly.  The  topical  index  is 
in  itself  very  suggestive.  A  metropol- 
itan newspaper  recently  affirmed  edi- 
torially that  good  books  concerning  the 
Bible  are  increasingly  in  demand.  It 
is  believed  that  this  uncommon  volume 
will  find  a  welcome  and  serve  a  purpose, 

C,  &  J, 
3 


nr^HE  Bible  is  the  life-thought  of  the 
world.  It  is  replete  with  all  that 
can  excite  the  fancy  or  give  wings  to 
the  imagination ;  all  that  can  refine 
the  taste,  ennoble  the  affections,  and  en- 
large the  intellect;  all,  in  fine  ^  that  can 
call  forth  the  sublimest  thoughts^  pre' 
sent  the  grandest  motives  of  action^  and 
enkindle  the  loftiest  expectation  in  the 
illimitable  future.  It  enters  into  all 
thought  and  all  feelings  and  is  allied  to 
all  interests^  earthly  and  heavenly.  It 
is  just  such  a  book  as  must  be  read,  will 
be  read.  It  will  travel  through  all 
lands,  dwell  among  all  people ^  find  a 
home  in  all  languages,  permeate  all 
thought.  The  very  study  and  effort 
to  destroy  it  will  only  cause  it  to  pene- 
trate still  more  deeply  into  the  world's 
thought,  and  imbed  it  still  more  firmly 
in  the  literature  of  all  ages. 

—BISHOP  DAVIS  W.  CLARK. 
1812-1871, 

4 


CONTENTS. 

PuBiviSHERS'  Announcement 3 

Introduction, 7 

Appendix, 177 

The  International  Bible  Ivesson  Sys- 
tem: Origin  and  Extent  to  Which 

Used, 179 

The  Bible  Societies  and  Bible  Distri- 
bution,   182 

Ignorance  Respecting  the  Bible,  .    .  184 

The  Bible  as  a  Text-book, 191 

A  Laureate's  Debt  to  the  Bible,    .    .  200 
A  Prayer  Over  the  Bible, 201 

Indexes, 203 

General, 205 

Topical, 212 

By  Professions, 214 

By  Nationality, 216 

Annotations, 217 

5 


^T^HE  Bible  thoroughly  known  is  a 
"*  literature  in  itself- — the  rarest  and 
richest  in  all  departments  of  thought 
or  imagination  which  exists. 

TAMES  ANTHONY  FROUDE. 


VERY  hour 
I  read  you,  kills  a  sin^ 
Or  lets  a  virtue  in 
To  fight  against  it. 

IZAAK  WALTON. 

\JL7 RITTEN  i7i  the  East^  these  char- 
acters live  forever  in  the  West ; 
written  in  one  provi7ice,  they  pervade 
the  world ;  permed  in  rude  times,  they 
are  prized  more  and  more  as  civiliza- 
tion  advances ;  product  of  aritiquity^ 
they  come   home   to   the   business   and 
bosoms  of  men,  women,  and  children  in 
modern  days.      Then  is  it  an  exagger- 
ation to  say  that  the  characters  of  the 
Scriptures  are  a  marvel  of  the  mindf 
ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON. 
6 


IMTRODUCTION. 


TT  HIS  compilation  is  not  intended  to 
encourage  bibliolatry.  The  Bible 
is  God's  vehicle.  By  it  he  comes  to 
our  minds  and  hearts.  To  worship 
the  vehicle  is  idolatrous.  If  the  book 
could  speak,  it  would  cry  as  the  angel 
did  to  John,  ''See  thou  do  it  not !" 

The  trend  of  our  day,  however,  is 
not  in  the  direction  of  over-vener- 
ation for  the  Bible.  The  first  effect 
of  the  application  of  the  scientific 
method  to  the  Scriptures  is  to  mar 
their  beauty  for  the  average  eye.  At 
first  blush  they  are  left  without  form 
or  comeliness,  as  the  Messiah  himself 
appeared. 

A  prince  of  the  American  pulpit 
once  exclaimed,  "  These  scientists  and 
higher  critics  are  God's  Irishmen: 
with  pick,  spade,   and   barrow,   they 

7 


8  3ntrobuction. 


are  removing  the  dibris  of  tradition. 
After  their  work  is  all  done,  the  rock 
will  still  remain." 

Some  timid  souls,  however,  may 
think  the  pick  is  striking  deeper  than 
the  superimposed  strata  of  human 
opinion.  They  may  even  imagine 
that  the  rock  itself  is  being  drilled 
preparatory  to  the  introduction  of 
explosives  that,  when  the  mine  is 
sprung,  will  leave  nothing  of  it. 

While  the  case  is  still  pending,  this 
cloud  of  witnesses  has  been  sum- 
moned. It  is  a  surprising  array, 
representative  of  every  nation,  pro- 
fession, rank,  and  station;  of  every 
faith,  unfaith,  anti-faith.  The  testi- 
mony is  clear  and  largely  disinter- 
ested. While  its  power  is  certainly 
cumulative,  it  is  not  expected  or 
claimed  to  be  conclusive.  It  will 
probably  be  generally  conceded,  how- 
ever, that  it  establishes  a  good  and 
unique  character  for  the  Bible.      It 


3ntro6uction, 


justifies  at  least  a  suspension  of  opinion 
until  the  case  of  the  Scientific  Method 
versus  the  Bible  is  closed  and  the 
book  (not  a  priori  theories  concern- 
ing it)  is  vindicated,  as  it  certainly 
will  be. 

In  these  noble  tributes,  culled  with 
care  from  every  available  source, 
many  will  find  expression  of  the  pro- 
foundest  sentiments  of  their  souls 
concerning  the  Bible.  Admiration, 
reverence,  love,  faith,  here  have  a 
vocabulary. 


^T^HE  time  has  been  when  men  said: 
"  Give  us  a  Bible  without  the  su- 
pernatural and  the  miracle T  The  time 
is  coming  whe7i  men  shall  say  :  '^  No 
Bible  shall  satisfy  the  sons  of  men*who 
have  learned  that  they  are  the  children 
of  God,  except  as  it  draws  men  nearer 
to  Gody  and  makes  man  manifest  in 
Gody  the  power  of  miracle  which  comes 
of  absolute  consecration  to  and  union 
with  him.''  O^ily  then  shall  the  soul 
of  man  rest  conte^it  in  the  great  Bible ^ 
where t  in  the  7iew  nature  that  has  come 
to  himy  the  supernatural,  as  he  used  to 
call  it,  becomes  his  home. 

PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

W  AM  a  creature  of  a  day,  passing 
through  life  as  an  arrow  through 
the  air.  I  waftt  to  know  one  thing — 
the  way  to  heaven.  God  himself  has 
condescended  to  teach  the  way.  He 
hath  writte7i  it  down  in  a  book.  O  give 
me  that  book  !  At  any  price  give  me 
the  book  of  God!  I  have  it,  here  is 
knowledge  enough  for  me. 

JOHN  WESLEY. 
lO 


TRIBUTES 

PART  1. 


W  THINK  I  know  my  Bible  as  few 
"*  literary  men  know  it.  There  is  no 
book  in  the  world  like  it,  and  the  finest 
novels  ever  written  fall  far  short  in  in- 
terest of  any  one  of  the  stories  it  tells. 

Whatever    strong    situatioyis    I   have 

in  my  books  are  not  of  my  creation^ 

but  are  taken  from  the  Bible.     "  The 

Deemster  "  is  the  story  of  the  Prodigal 

Sony  "  The  Bondman  "  is  the  story  of 

Esau  and  facob,  "  The  Scape g oat  ^^  is 

the  story  of  Eli  and  his   sons,  "  The 

Manxman  "  is  the  story  of  David  and 

Uriah, 

HALL  CAINE,  in  McClure's. 

W  PUT  a  New  Testament  among  your 
'■  books  for  the  very  same  reasons  and 
with  the  very  same  hopes  that  m,ade  me 
write  an  easy  account  of  it  for  you 
when  you  were  a  little  child — because 
it  is  the  best  book  that  ever  was  or  will 
be  known  in  the  world,  and  because  it 
teaches  you  the  best  lessons  by  which 
any  human  creature,  who  tries  to  be 
truthful  a7id  faithful  to  duty,  can  pos- 
sibly be  guided. 

CHARLES  DICKENS, 
Forster,  III,  445. 
12 


A  Cloud  of  Witnesses. 
ji  ji  ji  jt  ji 

pari  I. 

To  the  Bible  men  will  return  be- 
■  cause  they  can  not  do  without  it; 
because  happiness  is  our  being's  end 
and  aim,  and  happiness  belongs  to 
righteousness,  and  righteousness  is 
revealed  in  the  Bible.  For  this  sim- 
ple reason  men  will  return  to  the  Bi- 
ble, just  as  a  man  who  tried  to  give 
up  food,  thinking  it  was  a  vain  thing 
^nd  that  he  could  do  without  it, 
would  return  to  food;  or  a  man 
who  tried  to  give  up  sleep,  thinking 
it  was  a  vain  thing  and  he  could  do 
without  it,  would  return  to  sleep. 
1822-1888,       — Matthew  Arnold. 

'  £]^h  Scripture  is  practical,  and  in- 
tended   to    minister   to   our  im- 
provement   rather   than   to  our  cu- 
riosity, ^/did, 

13 


14       d  Cloub  of  tOitnesses. 

•♦' 

3  I T  is  astonishing  how  a  Bible  sen- 
■  tence  clinches  and  sums  up  an  ar- 
gument. — /did. 

4 There  is  no  passion  that   is  not 

■  finely  expressed  in  those  parts  of 
the  inspired  writings  which  are  proper 
for  Divine  songs  and  anthems. 

1672-17 19.  — ^Joseph  Addison. 

5  The   Scripture   so   speaketh  that, 

■  with  the  height  of  it,  it  laughs 
proud  and  lofty-spirited  men  to  scorn ; 
with  the  depth  of  it,  it  terrifies  those 
who,  with  attention,  look  into  it;  with 
the  truth  of  it,  it  feeds  men  of  the 
greatest  knowledge  and  understand- 
ing ;  and  with  the  sweetness  of  it,  it 
nourisheth  babes  and  sucklings. 

354-430.         — St.  Augustine, 

Bishop  of  Hippo. 

6  I  HAVE  examined  all,  as  well  as 
*  my  narrow  sphere,  my  straitened 
means,  and  my  busy  life  would 
allow  me;  and  the  result  is,  that 
the  Bible  is  the  best  book  in  the 
world.     1 735-1826.    — ^JoHN  Adams, 

Second  President  United  States. 


CI  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,        15 


7  CO  great  is  my  veneration  tor  the 
■^  Bible  that  the  earlier  my  children 
begin  to  read  it,  the  more  confident 
will  be  my  hopes  that  they  will  prove 
useful  citizens  to  their  country  and 
respectable  members  of  society. 
1767-1848.  — John  Quincy  Adams, 
6th  President  United  States. 


8  IN  what  light  soever  we  regard  the 
■  Bible,  whether  with  reference  to 
revelation,  to  history,  or  to  morality, 
it  is  an  invaluable  mine  of  knowledge 
and  virtue.  —Ibid. 

9  I  SPEAK  as  a  man  of  the  world  to 
'  men  of  the  world ;  and  I  say  to  you, 
"Search  the  Scriptures."  The  Bible 
is  the  Book  of  all  others  to  be  read  at 
all  ages  and  in  all  conditions  of  hu- 
man life ;  not  to  be  read  once  or  twice 
or  thrice  through,  and  then  laid  aside, 
but  to  be  read  in  small  portions  of 
one  or  two  chapters  every  day,  and 
never  to  be  intermitted  unless  by 
some  overruling  necessity. 

—Ibid. 


i6       a  Cloub  of  IPitnesses. 


to  f  IRS,  I  have  devoured  it  [the  Bible], 
finding  in  it  words  suitable  to, 
and  descriptive  of,  the  states  of  my 
mind.  The  Lord,  by  his  Divine  Spirit, 
has  been  pleased  to  give  me  an  under- 
standing of  what  I  read  therein. 

I777-1825.  — ALEXANDi^R  I, 

Czar  of  Russia. 


"N 


O  man  ever  did  or  ever  can  be- 
come truly  eloquent  without  be- 
ing a  constant  reader  of   the  Bible, 
and  an  admirer  of  its  purity  and  sub- 
limity. — Fisher  Ames. 
1756-1808. 

12  Before  me  lay  the  Sacred  Text: 

The  help,  the  guide,  the  balm  of 
souls  perplexed. 

1538-83.      — AlyEXANDER  ArBUTHNOT. 

13  ilCCEPT  the  glad  tidings, 

The  warnings  and  chidings, 
Found  in  this  volume  of  heavenly 
lore; 
With  faith  that 's  unfailing, 
And  love  all  prevailing, 
Trust  in  its  promise  of  life  ever- 
more. ^Amm. 


CI  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.        17 

14  THE  Bible  is  full  and  complete  as 
*     a  book  of  direction ;  human  life  is 
full  and  complete  as  a  field  of  exercise. 
1835 — Lyman  Abbott. 


15  iJS  a  mere  book  it  will  never  die. 
^*  Such  height  of  thought,  such 
breadth  of  expression,  such  aptness 
in  speaking  to  the  great  heart  of  the 
race, — surely  it  will  live  and  be  read 
in  the  world's  latest  afternoon;  and 
when  the  last  ray  is  fading  out  of  the 
eye  of  humanity,  it  will  not  be  to- 
ward Homer  or  Plato  that  the  strain- 
ing orb  will  be  found  directing  itself, 
but  rather  toward  the  various  glories 
of  that  one  Book  which  deserves  to 
be  called  the  Book  of  Mankind. 

—Ad  Fidem.     (F.  E.  Burr.) 
1818— 

16  THEY  who  are  not  induced  to  be- 

lieve and  live  as  they  ought  by 
those  discoveries  which  God  hath  made 
in  Scripture,  would  stand  out  against 
any  evidence  whatever,  even  that  of 
a  messenger  sent  express  from  the 
other  world. 

1662-1732.    —Francis  Atterbury. 


i8        CI  Cloub  of  tPitnesses. 

•*■ 


'A 


SACRKD   ark,   which    from    the 
deeps 
Garners  the  Hfe  for  worlds  to  be> 
And    with    its    precious    burden 
sweeps 
Adown  dark  Time's  destroying 
sea.  — Anon. 


i8  ^F  most    other    things   it    may  be 

^  said,  "Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity ;"  but  of  the  Scriptures,  Verity 
of  verities,  all  is  verity. 

1 602- 1 659.       — John  Arrowsmith, 


19  nr 


HE  Bible  evidently  transcends  all 
human  effort ;  it  has  upon  its  face 
the  impress  of  divinity ;  it  shines  with 
a  light  which,  from  its  clearness  and 
its  splendor,  shows  itself  to  be  celes- 
tial. Surely,  then,  it  is  the  Word  of 
God.  — ArchibaIvD  Alexande:r. 

1772-1851. 

20  TT  HE  Bible  is  the  standard  for  earth's 

■     erring  millions.     The  sacred  rays 

of   Love,    Peace,   Truth,   and   Purity 

beam  and  radiate   from   its  glowing 

page.  — Anon. 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.        19 


21  The  Bible  is  the  only  cement  of 
■     nations. 

— Christian  Karl  Josias  von  Bunsen. 
1791-1860.       (Chevauer  Bunsetn.) 

22 There  is  not  a  book  on  earth  so 
favorable  to  all  the  kind,  and  to  all 
the  sublime  affections,  or  so  unfriendly 
to  hatred  and  persecution,  to  tyranny, 
injustice,  and  every  sort  of  malevo- 
lence, as  the  Gospel. 

1 735-1 803.  —James  Beattie. 

^3  M  O   book  in   the  world  equals   the 
Scripture,    even    as    regards    the 
manners   and   affections. 
On  Acts  XX,  jj. 

— Johann  A1.BRECHT  BengeIv. 
1687-1752. 

24  lUH  think  of  the  Bible  as  of  a  struc- 

"    ture  solid  and  eternal. 

— Cyrus  Augustus  Bartoi<. 
1813 

25  T'  IS  very  vain  for  me  to  boast 

How  small  a  price  this  Bible  cost ; 
The  day  of  judgment  will  make  clear 
'T  was  very  cheap  or  very  dear. 
1746-1767.        — Michael  Bruce, 

[On  the  fly-leaf  of  his  Bible.] 


^o       CI  Cloub  of  XDttnesses. 
•♦• 

26  f  O  FAR  as  I  have  observed  God's 
■^dealings  with  my  soul,  the  flights 
of  preachers  sometimes  entertained 
me ;  but  it  was  Scripture  expressions 
which  did  penetrate  my  heart,  and  in 
a  way  peculiar  to  themselves. 
1722-1787.  — J.  Brown, 

Of  Haddington. 


27  TTHE  Bible  is  a  precious  storehouse 
and  the  Magna  Charta  of  a  Chris- 
tian. There  he  reads  of  his  Heavenly 
Father's  love  and  of  his  dying  Sav- 
ior's legacies.  There  he  sees  a  map 
of  his  travels  through  the  wilderness, 
and  a  landscape,  too,  of  Canaan. 
1689-1768.  — John  Berridge). 


28  I F  these  facts  (on  the  origin,  nature, 
*  and  progress  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion) are  not  therefore  established, 
nothing  in  the  history  of  mankind  can 
be  believed. 
1767-1843. 
— C.  Kendal  Bushe,  Chief  Justice. 


CI  Cloub  of  XPhnesses.        21 


29  ^THK  Bible  owes  its  continued  au- 
■  thority  and  influence  to  the  fact 
that  it  really  contains  the  Word  of 
God;  that  in  its  various  records  flows 
down  the  full  and  vigorous  river  of 
God's  truth  and  grace,  in  the  history 
of  a  race  peculiarly  and  providen- 
tially fitted  to  receive  special  com- 
munications from  on  high.  Nothing 
can  ever  change  or  destroy  the  sub- 
lime merits  and  religious  influence  of 
the  Mosaic  dispensation ;  nothing  out- 
live the  strains  of  David's  glorious 
harp ;  nothing  take  the  place  of  Isaiah's 
exalted  prophecies  ;  much  less  can  the 
record  of  our  Savior's  life  and  conver- 
sations ever  cease  to  win  the  profound- 
est  reverence  and  gratitude  of  man- 
kind. — Henry  W.  Bellows. 
1814-1882. 


30  /ILTHOUGH  the  Greek  literature 
■•  of  the  New  Testament  has  no 
Demosthenes  "On  the  Crown"  or 
Plato's  Republic,  as  it  has  no  Iliad  or 
Prometheus,  yet  it  lays  the  founda- 
tion of  the  sermon  and  the  theological 
tract,  those  forms  of  literature  which, 


22        a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 


however  little  they  may  appeal  to  the 
aesthetic  taste,  have  yet  been  the  lit- 
erary means  of  a  world-transform- 
ing power;  as,  from  pulpit  and  chair, 
Christian  ministers  have  stirred  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  mankind. 

1 84 1 — Charles  A.  Briggs, 

Lecture :  Languages  of  the  Bible.  God's 
Word  Man's  Light  and  Guide.  Lec- 
tures before  N.  Y.  S.  S.  Association, 
American  Tract  Society. 

31  I  FIND  the  Bible  the  patriot's  chart- 
■  book,  the  child's  delight,  the  old 
man's  comfort,  the  young  man's 
guide.  In  its  pages  the  sick  and  the 
weary  find  solace,  and  the  dying  hope 
and  peace.  — Richard  Beard. 

1799-1880. 

32  ^HB  poetry  of  the  Bible  has  been 

■  the  forming-power  of  the  greatest 
modern  poems.  —Ibid. 

33  ^'HE  Bible  stands  alone  in  human 

■  literature  in  its  elevated  concep- 
tion of  manhood  as  to  character  and 
conduct.  It  is  the  invaluable  train- 
ing-book of  the  world. 

1813-1887.   — Henry  Ward  Beecher- 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,        23 


34  TTHE    Bible  emptied,   effete,    worn 

out !  If  all  the  wisest  men  of  the 
world  were  placed  man  to  man,  they 
could  not  sound  the  shallowest  depths 
of  the  Gospel  of  John.  —Ibid. 

35  IjriHOKVBR  made  that  book  made 

^  me.  It  knows  all  that  is  in  my 
heart.  It  tells  me  what  no  one  else 
except  God  can  know  about  me. 
Whoever  made  me,  wrote  that  book. 
— Bishop  Boone's  Chinese  Assistant 
in  the  translation  of  the  Bible  (before 
his  conversion). 

361  BBI.IEVK  the  Bible,  all  of  it! 
'  The  very  things  I  do  n't  under- 
stand I  believe  the  most  of  all.  I 
would  n't  exchange  my  faith  for  any 
man's  knowledge. 

1818-1885.       —Henry  W.  Shaw, 

(Josh  Billings.) 

37  T'HERE  never  was   found  in  any 
■     age  of  the  world  either  religion 
or  law  that  did  so  highly  exalt  the 
public  good  as  the  Bible. 

1561-1626.  — Francis  Bacon. 


24       (X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 
.«• 

38  /I  S  THE  moon,  for  all  those  darker 
*^    parts  we  call  her  spots,  gives  us 

much  greater  light  than  the  stars, 
which  seem  all  luminous,  so  will  the 
Scripture;  for  all  its  obscurer  pas- 
sages afford  more  light  than  the 
brightest  human  authors. 
1626-1691.  — Robert  Boyle. 

39  ^  S  SOME  pictures  seem  to  have 
**  their  eyes  fixed  upon  every  one 
from  whatsoever  part  of  the  room  he 
eyes  them,  there  is  scarce  a  frame  of 
spirit  a  man  can  be  of,  to  which  some 
passage  of  Scripture  is  not  as  appli- 
cable as  if  it  were  meant  for  or  said 
to  him.  — /did. 

40  I  USE  the  Scriptures,  not  as  an  ar- 
■  senal  to  be  resorted  to  only  for 
arms  and  weapons,  .  .  .  but  as  a 
matchless  temple,  where  I  delight  to 
contemplate  the  beauty,  the  symme- 
try, and  the  magnificence  of  the 
structure,  and  to  increase  my  awe 
and  excite  my  devotion  to  the  Deity- 
there  preached  and  adored.     — /did. 


(X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.        25 


41  TT  HOUGH  many  other  books  are 
■  comparable  to  cloth,  in  which  by 
a  small  pattern  we  may  safely  judge 
of  the  whole  piece,  yet  the  Bible  is 
like  a  fair  suit  of  arras,  of  which 
though  a  shred  may  assure  y^  of 
the  fineness  of  the  colors  and  rich- 
ness of  the  stuff,  yet  the  hangings 
never  appear  to  their  full  advantage 
but  when  they  are  displayed  to  their 
full  dimensions  and  are  seen  together. 

—Ibid. 

42 1 N  THE  Bible  the  ignorant  may 
■  learn  all  required  knowledge,  and 
the  most  knowing  may  learn  to  dis- 
cern their  ignorance.  — Ibid, 

43i^HE  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son, 
■  the  most  beautiful  fiction  that  ever 
was  invented ;  our  Savior's  speech  to 
his  disciples,  with  which  he  closed 
his  earthly  ministrations,  full  of  the 
sublimest  dignity  and  tenderest  affec- 
tion, surpass  anything  that  I  ever 
read,  and,  like  the  spirit  by  which 
they  were  dictated,  fly  directly  to  the 
heart.  — W11.1.1AM  Cowper. 

1731-1800. 


26        (X  (Eloub  of  IPitnesses. 
•♦• 

44  T'  IS  Revelation  satisfies  all  doubts, 

Explains   all   mysteries,   except 
her  own, 
And  so  illuminates  the  path  of  life, 
That  fools  discover  it   and  stray  no 
more.  — Idz'd. 

45  dj    CRITIC    on    the    Sacred    Book 
"  should  be 

Candid  and  learned,  dispassionate  and 
free, — 

Free  from  the  wayward  bias  bigots 
feel, 

From  fancy's  influence  and  intem- 
perate zeal.  — /did. 

46  No  other  Scriptures  of  man  compare 

with  it  for  wide,  deep,  and  ever- 
growing influence.  It  is  the  highest 
work  of  its  class— that  is,  of  ^/le  sa- 
cred writings  of  mankind — and  these 
sacred  writings  are,  among  all  other 
writings,  the  most  important  and  in- 
fluential.    .     .     . 

Every  commanding  race,  every  vast 
civilization,  has  been  directed  and  con- 
trolled by  its  sacred  writings.  The 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  Hindus 


a  Cloub  of  IDUnesses*        27 


have  been  ruled,  during  twenty-five 
centuries,  by  their  Vedas  and  Pu- 
ranas.  Chinese  civilization  has  taken 
its  stamp  from  the  "  Four  Books  " 
and  "The  Kings."  The  brilliant 
career  of  the  Persian  Empire  was 
inspired  throughout  by  the  Zend- 
Avesta.  The  tribes  of  Arabia  were 
gathered,  molded,  banded,  and  wielded 
in  a  resistless  tide  of  conquest  by  the 
Koran.  The  sacred  books  of  the 
Buddhists  have  been  the  leaven  of 
civilization  among  a  third  part  of  the 
human  race  during  a  vast  period  of 
time.  If  we  judge  them  by  their  in- 
fluence, these  are  the  great  books  of 
the  human  race.  But,  for  various 
reasons,  the  Bible  stands  above  them 
all.  The  others  are  the  books  of 
particular  races  —  of  the  Hindus 
only,  or  the  Mongols,  or  the  Per- 
sians, or  the  Chinese;  but  the 
Bible  has  a  constituency  composed  of 
all  the  races  of  the  world.  The  oth- 
ers belong  to  decaying,  arrested,  or 
dead  civilizations;  the  Bible  to  the 
advancing  and  all-conquering  races, 
who  stand  for  the  highest  civilization 


28        a  Cloub  of  XPttnesses. 


attained  on  this  planet.  The  others 
are  either  narrow  or  shallow  in  some 
directions;  the  Bible  is  a  fountain 
whose  waters  feed  intellect,  heart, 
life,  promoting  the  highest  worship 
as  well  as  the  largest  humanity.  .  .  ? 

Kingdoms  fall,  institutions  perish, 
civilizations  change,  human  doctrines 
disappear ;  but  the  imperishable  truths 
which  pervade  and  sanctify  the  Bible 
shall  bear  it  up  above  the  flood  of 
change  and  the  deluge  of  years. 

— James  Freeman  Clark, 
Lecture  :  "  What  is  the  Bible  ?  and  Where 

Did  it  Come  From?" 

1810-1883. 


47  ^'HE  incongruity  of  the  Bible,  with 
1  the  age  of  its  birth,  its  freedom 
from  earthly  mixtures,  its  original 
unborrowed,  solitary  greatness,  the 
suddenness  with  which  it  broke  forth 
amidst  the  universal  gloom, — these  to 
me  are  strong  indications  of  its  di- 
vine descent.  I  can  not  reconcile 
them  with  a  human  origin. 

— William  Ellery  Channing. 
1780-1842. 


CC  Cloub  of  XDttnesses.        29 


48  THE  Gospels,  in  which  the  Christ 

■  is  placed  before  us  so  vividly,  are, 
in  truth,  the  chief  repositories  of  di- 
vine wisdom.  The  greatest  produc- 
tions of  human  genius  have  little 
quickening  power  in  comparison  with 
these  simple  narratives.  In  reading 
the  Gospels,  I  feel  myself  in  presence 
of  one  who  speaks  as  man  never 
spake;  whose  voice  is  not  of  the 
earth;  who  speaks  with  a  tone  of 
reality  and  authority  altogether  his 
own.  .  .  .  No  books  astonish  me 
like  the  Gospels.  .  .  .  Of  all  books 
they  deserve  most  the  study  of  youth 
and  age.  — /did. 

49  IN  the  Bible  there  is  more  that  Jinds 
■  me  than  I  have  experienced  in  all 
other  books  put  together;  the  words 
of  the  Bible  find  me  at  greater  depths 
of  my  being;  and  whatever ^nds  me 
brings  with  it  an  irresistible  evidence 
of  its  having  proceeded  from  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

— Samueiv  Taylor  Coleridge, 
In  Confessions  of  an  Inquiring  Spirit: 
Ivondon  Ed.,  William  Pickering.    1840. 
1772-1834. 


30        G.  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 

•*— — 

50  INTENSE  study  of  the  Bible  will 
*  keep  any  man  from  being  vulgar  in 
point  of  style.  — /did. 


51  W  OUI.D  I  withhold  the  Bible  from 
■*  the  cottager  or  the  artisan? 
Heaven  forbid!  The  fairest  flower 
that  ever  clomb  up  a  cottage  window 
is  not  so  fair  a  sight  to  my  eyes  as 
the  Bible  gleaming  through  the  lower 
panes.  — Jdzd,,  p.  85. 


52  pOR  more  than  a  thousand  years 
*  the  Bible,  collectively  taken,  has 
gone  hand  in  hand  with  civilization, 
science,  law;  in  short,  with  moral 
and  intellectual  cultivation;  always 
supporting,  and  often  leading,  the 
way.  — Ibid.,  p.  71. 


53  THE  sanctions  of  the  Divine   law 

■     cover  the  whole  area  of  human 

action,  reach  every  case,  punish  every 

sin,   and    recompense    every    virtue. 


(X  Cloub  of  XDttnesses.        31 


Its  rewards  and  its  punishments  are 
graduated  with  perfect  justice. 
1 769-1 828.         — DeWitt  Clinton. 


54y 


HERE  was  plainly  wanting  a  Di- 
vine revelation  to  recover  man- 
kind out  of  their  universal  corrup- 
tion and  degeneracy. 

1675-1729.  — Samuei.  C1.ARKE. 

55  I T  is  just  as  if  the  art  of  ship-build- 
*  ing  should  be  conducted  without 
helms.  Tall  ships  should  be  set 
afloat  to  be  guilded  by  the  winds 
only.  For  such  are  the  immortal  ships 
on  the  sea  of  human  life  without  the 
Bible.  Its  knowledge,  its  principles, 
ought  from  the  first  to  be  as  much  a 
part  of  the  educated,  intelligent  con- 
stitution as  the  keel  or  rudder  is  part 
and  parcel  of  a  well-built  ship. 

1807 — George  B.  Cheever, 

Pilgrim  of  the  Jungfrau,  p.  59. 

56  I  CAN  not  look  around  me  without 
'  being  struck  by  the  analogy  observ- 
able in  the  works  of  God.     I  find  the 


32        (X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 
■♦— — 

Bible  written  in  the  style  of  his  other 
books  of  creation  and  providence. 
The  pen  seems  in  the  same  hand.  I 
see  it  at  times,  indeed,  write  mysteri- 
ously in  each  of  these  books;  but  I 
know  that  mystery  in  the  works  of 
God  is  only  another  name  for  my  ig- 
norance. The  moment,  therefore, 
that  I  become  humble,  all  becomes 
right.  — Richard  Cecil. 

1748-1810. 

57  The  Bible  resembles  an  extensive 
■  garden  where  there  is  a  vast  va- 
riety and  profusion  of  fruits  and  flow- 
ers, some  of  which  are  more  essential  or 
more  splendid  than  others ;  but  there 
is  not  a  blade  suffered  to  grow  in  it 
which  has  not  its  use  and  beauty  in 
the  system.  — Idz'd. 


58  I  KARNKSTivY  hope  that  God's  day 
may  be  hallowed,  and  his  Word  may 
be  studied  through  this  whole  land,  till 
their  obligations  are  felt  and  acknowl- 
edged by  all  its  people. 
1 782-1 866.  — Lewis  Cass. 


a  Cloub  of  IDitncsses,        33 
•♦ 

59  I  HAVK  but  one  book,  but  that  is 
'  the  best. 

— WiiyiviAM  Collins  to  Dr.  Johnson. 
1720-1756. 

60  Jj  NOBIyK  Book  !  All  men's  Book ! 
■■  It  is  our  first  oldest  statement  of 
the  never-ending  problem — mans  des- 
tiny and  God's  ways  with  him  here  on 
earth ;  and  all  in  such  free-flowing 
outlines — grand  in  its  sincerity,  in  its 
simplicity  and  its  epic  melody. 

1795-1881.         — Thomas  Carlyle;. 

61  IN  the  poorest  cottage  are  books — 
■  is  one  Book  wherein,  for  several 
thousands  of  years,  the  spirit  of  man 
has  found  light  and  nourishment  and 
an  interpreting  response  to  whatever 
is  deepest  in  him.  — /did. 

62  T'O  see  God's  own  law  universally 

'  acknowledged  as  it  stands  in  the 
Holy  Written  Book;  to  see  this — or 
the  true  unwearied  aim  and  struggle 
toward  this — is  a  thing  worth  living 
and  dying  for.  — /did. 

3 


34        CI  Cloub  of  lt)itnes5e$« 

,4, 

63  W  HKN    one    said    to    Carlyle   that 
there  was  nothing  remarkable  in 
the  Book  of  Proverbs,  he  simply  re- 
plied, "Make  a  few." 


64^ 


HATEVER    strong  situations    I 
have  in  my  tales  are  not  of  my 
creation,  but  are  taken  from  the  Bible. 
— Thomas  Henry  Hall  Caine. 
1853- 


65  T  HE   Bible  is   unquestionably   the 
richest  repository  of  thought  and 
imagery,  and  the  best  model  of  pure 
style  that  our  language  can  boast. 
— W.  B.  Clulow. 


66  C  CHOLARS  may  quote  Plato  in 
^^  studies,  but  the  hearts  of  millions 
shall  quote  the  Bible  at  their  daily 
toil,  and  draw  strength  from  its  inspi- 
ration as  the  meadows  draw  it  from 
the  brook, 

— MoNCURE  Daniel  Conway. 
1832- 


<X  (£Iou5  of  IDttnesses,        35 
.4. 

67^  R  whether  more    abstractedly  we 
v/      look 
Or    on    the    writers    or    the    written 

book, 
Whence   but  for  heaven  could   men 

unskilled  in  arts, 
In  several  ages  born,  in  several  parts 
Weave  such  agreeing  truths  ?  or  how 

or  why- 
Should  all  conspire  to  cheat  us  with 

a  lie? 
Unasked  their  pains,  ungrateful  their 

advice ; 
Starving   their   gain,  and    martydom 

their  price.         — John  Dryden. 
1 63 1- 1 700. 


68p  OR  Scripture  style  is  noble   and 
•        divine, 
It  speaks  no  less  than  God  in  every 

line; 
It  is  not  built  on  disquisition  vain, 
The  things  we  must  believe  are  few 
and  plain.  — /did. 


36        Ct  (£Ioub  of  IDitnesses. 

69  HlBIyE  Christianity  is  the  compan- 

ion of  liberty  in  all  its  conflicts, 
the  cradle  of  its  infancy,  and  the 
divine  source  of  its  claims. 

— Charles  Henri  Clerei.  de 

1805-1859.         ToCQUEVILIyE. 

70  ^ThK  Bible  is  a  window  in  the  prison 

of  hope  through  which  we  look 
into  eternity.      — Timothy  Dwight. 
1752-1818. 

71  The  grand  old  Book  of  God  still 

stands;   and  this  old  earth,    the 
more  its  leaves  are  turned  over  and 
pondered,   the  more    it    will   sustain 
and  illustrate  the  Sacred  Word. 
1813-1895.    — James  D WIGHT  Dana. 

72  The  first  thought  that  strikes  the 

scientific  reader  is  the  evidence 
of  divinity,  not  merely  in  the  first 
verse  of  the  record  and  the  successive 
fiats,  but  in  the  whole  order  of  crea- 
tion. There  is  so  much  that  the  most 
recent  readings  of  science  have  for  the 
first  time  explained,  that  the  idea  of 
man  as  the  author  becomes  utterly  in 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.        37 

'♦• 

comprehensible.  By  proving  the  rec- 
ord true,  science  pronounces  it  divine; 
for  who  could  have  correctly  narrated 
the  secrets  of  eternity  but  God  him- 
self? —Ibid. 

73  /]  ND,   finally,  I   may   state,  as  the 

"  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter, 
that  the  Bible  contains  within  itself 
all  that,  under  God,  is  required  to  ac- 
count for  and  dispose  of  all  forms 
of  infidelity,  and  to  turn  to  the  best 
and  highest  uses  all  that  man  can 
learn  of  nature. 

1820—  John  W.  Dawson. 

74  m  O  better  lessons  than  those  of  the 
1^    Bible  can  I  teach  my  child. 

1 713-1784.  — Denis  Diderot. 


75»|i^HB  cruel  battles  fought  some 
i  years  ago  round  the  Malakoff 
tower  showed  that  in  that  fortress  lay 
the  key  of  war,  and  on  it  depended 
defeat  or  triumph.  So  the  multiplied 
attacks  directed  in  our  day  against  the 
Bible  indicate  that  it  is,  in  view  of 


38        CI  (Eloub  of  IDttnesses. 


our    adversaries,  the    tower    which, 
above  all  others,  must  be  torn  down. 

—Jean  Henri  Merle,  D'Aubigne. 

1794-1872. 

76  TlHK  voice  of  the  past  is  now  sel- 
■  dom  heard  in  the  din  of  clashing 
opinions  and  interests.  Saint  Augus- 
tine and  Saint  Chrysostom,  of  the 
early  Christian  era,  commanded  the 
attention  of  the  world.  The  school- 
men of  the  Dark  Ages  led  the 
thought  of  the  times  through  uni- 
versities, where  thirty  thousand  stu- 
dents were  entered  on  the  rolls. 
Luther  and  Melanchthon,  and  Eras- 
mus and  Grotius,  were  spokesmen  of 
the  effort  for  spiritual,  intellectual,  and 
civil  liberty,  which  has  incalculably 
affected  the  destinies  of  mankind.  The 
Puritan  divines  of  the  first  hundred 
years  of  New  England  settlement  in- 
spired the  thought  and  governed  the 
course  of  the  colleges  and  controlled 
the  minds  of  the  people.  Now,  no 
one,  outside  the  antiquaries  and  crit- 
ical few,  reads  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  the  Schoolmen,  the  Leaders 


(X  (Eloub  of  XPttnesses.        39 


of  the  Reformation,  or  Cotton  Mather, 
or  Jonathan  Edwards.  The  body  of 
truth  from  which  they  derived  their 
doctrines  and  constructed  their  sys- 
tems is  found  in  the  open  Bible,  by 
every  fireside  in  the  land.  From  its 
pages  the  individual,  according  to  his 
or  her  light  and  opportunity,  draws 
the  lessons  of  life. 

1834-  — Chauncey  M.  Depew. 

77  The  next  point  to  be  attended  to 
is  this :  What  books  ought  you  to 
read?  There  are  some  books  that  are 
absolutely  indispensable  to  the  kind 
of  education  that  we  are  contemplat- 
ing, and  to  the  profession  that  we  are 
considering ;  and  of  all  these  the  most 
indispensable,  the  most  useful,  the 
one  whose  knowledge  is  most  effective, 
is  the  Bible.  There  is  no  book  from 
which  more  valuable  lessons  can  be 
learned.  I  am  considering  it  now  not 
as  a  religious  book,  but  as  a  manual 
of  utility,  of  professional  preparation 
and  professional  use,  for  a  journalist. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  book  whose 
style   is   more   suggestive   and    more 


40        CI  Cloub  of  IDitnesses. 

instructive,  from  which  you  learn 
more  directly  that  sublime  simplic- 
ity which  never  exaggerates,  which 
recounts  the  greatest  event,  with  so- 
lemnity of  course,  but  without  senti- 
mentality or  affectation;  none  which 
you  open  with  such  confidence  and 
lay  down  with  such  reverence ;  there 
is  no  book  like  the  Bible.  When  you 
get  into  a  controversy  and  want  ex- 
actly the  right  answer,  when  you  are 
looking  for  an  expression,  what  is 
there  that  closes  a  dispute  like  a  verse 
from  the  Bible  ?  What  is  it  that  sets 
up  the  right  principle  for  you,  which 
pleads  for  a  policy,  for  a  cause,  so 
much  as  the  right  passage  of  Holy 

Scripture? 

— Charles  A.  Dana, 
Of  the  New  York  Sun,  in  "  Journal- 
ism," a  lecture  at  Union  College. 
1819— 


78  I N  this  Book  is  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
^   world. 

— Georg  Henrich  August  Ewai.d, 

In  conversation  with  Dean  Stanley. 
1803-1875. 


a  Cloub  of  IPitncsses.        41 


79  AUT  from  the  heart  of  nature  rolled 
^  The  burdens  of  the  Bible  old. 
—Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
1803-1882. 


80  TTHERB  is  yet  another  sword  to  be 
'     delivered   to    me.      I    mean   the 
sacred  Bible,  which  is  the  Sword  of 
the  Spirit,  without  which  we  are  noth- 
ing, neither  can  we  do  anything. 
— Edward  VI, 
(At  his  coronation,  on  receiving  the 
swords  of  England,  France,  and 
Ireland.) 
Reigned  1 547-1 553- 


81  Ahh  the  distinctive  features  and  su- 
*■    periority  of  our  republican  insti- 
tutions are  derived  from  the  teachings 
of  Scripture.      —Edward  Everett. 
1794-1865. 

82 'T' HIS  narrative  contains  nothing 
^  which  does  not  accurately  corre- 
spond to  a  court  of  Pharaoh  in  the 
best  times  of  the  kingdom. 

1837 —  — Georg  Ebers. 


42        a  (Eloub  of  IPttnesses. 

-4-- — 

83  ftOD  has  not  so  poised  the  Rock  of 
^  Ages  that  the  higher  or  lower 
criticism,  with  pickax  or  crowbar  dig- 
ging out  a  chronological  inaccuracy 
here  or  prying  oflf  a  historical  contra- 
diction there,  is  going  to  upset  it. 
The  critic  may  be  all  right,  and  the 
crowbar  may  be  all  right;  but  the 
Rock  of  Ages  is  all  right  too,  and  it 
will  stand  forever. 

— Professor  ly.  J.  Evans. 
Biblical     Scholarship    and    Inspiration, 
p.  70 


84  ^^E  yardstick,  if  used  for  micro- 

■  scopic  measurements,  would  fail; 
but  as  a  yardstick  it  is  infallible.  So 
with  the  Bible.  Its  infallibility  is 
not  microscopic,  infinitesimal  infalli- 
bility respecting  all  particular  things 
in  the  heavens  above  and  the  earth 
beneath,  or  in  the  waters  under  the 
earth.  —/did.,  p.  82,1. 

85  IS  it  not  the  claim  and  glory  of  the 
'  Gospel  story  that  it  combines  the 
dignity  and  authority  of  a  heavenly 


a  Cloub  of  tPtlnesses,       43 


•♦' 


recital  with  the  piquant  frankness  of 
the  conversational  fireside  tale? 

—/did. 

86  Which  book  has  done  the  most  for 

liberty,  justice,  progress?  Which 
book  has  most  persistently  branded, 
defied,  and  theatened  every  form  of 
tyranny?  Which  book  has  spoken 
with  the  truest  pathos  to  the  wounded 
and  sorrowing  heart?  The  test  is 
fair  ;  the  words  and  works  are  before 
you — judge  them. 
1830 Ecce  Deics:  Jose;ph  Parker. 

87  Y^UNG  man,  my  advice  to  you  is, 

that  you  cultivate  an  acquaint- 
ance with,  and  a  firm  belief  in,  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  This  is  your  cer- 
tain interest. 

1 706-1 790.    — Benjamin  Franklin. 

88  /I  BIBLE  and  a  newspaper  in  every 

house,  a  good  school  in  every  dis- 
trict— all  studied  and  appreciated  as 
they  merit — are  the  principal  support 
of  virtue,  morality,  and  civil  liberty. 

—Ibid. 


44       ^  Cloub  of  XDttnesses* 


89"^  HE  Scriptures  teach  us  the  best 
■  way  of  living,  the  noblest  way  of 
suffering,  and  the  most  comfortable 
way  of  dying.  — ^John  Fi^aveji,. 

1 630-1 69 1. 


90  U  OW  precious  is  the  Book  divine, 
*  "      By  inspiration  given ! 
Bright  as  a  lamp  its  doctrines  shine, 
To  guide  our  souls  to  heaven. 
1 739-1 8 1 9.  — ^JoHN  Fawcett. 


91 1   WOUI^D  not  now  exchange  for  any 
■    amount  of  money  the  acquaintance 
with  the  Bible  that  was  drummed  into 
me  when  a  boy.     — Eugene  Field. 
1850- 1895. 

9^^  HE  uncommon  beauty  and  mar- 
■  velous  English  of  the  Protestant 
Bible — it  lives  on  the  ear  like  music 
that  never  can  be  forgotten;  like  the 
sound  of  choice  bells  which  the  con- 
vert hardly  knows  how  to  forego. 
Its  felicities  often  seem  to  be  things 
rather  than  mere  words.    It  is  part  of 


CI  <£lonb  of  VOxtmsszs,       45 


the  national  mind,  and  the  anchor  of 
national  seriousness. 

— Fre;dkrick  W11.1.1AM  Fabe;r. 
1814-1863, 

93  The  peculiar  genius,  if  such  a  word 

■  may  be  permitted,  which  breathes 
through  it  [the  authorized  version]; 
the  mingled  tenderness  and  majesty; 
the  Saxon  simplicity,  the  preternatural 
grandeur,  unequaled,  unapproached 
in  the  attempted  improvements  of 
modern  scholars, — all  are  here,  and 
bear  the  impress  of  the  mind  of  one 
man,  and  that  man  William  Tyndale. 
— Jameis  Anthony  Froud^. 
T818-1894. 

94  TThK  Bible — a  stream,  where  alike 

the  elephant  may  swim  and  the 
lamb  may  wade. 

— Pope;  Gregory  I:  The  Great. 
544-604. 

95  QTHKR  books,  after  shining  their 
^^  season,  may  perish  in  flames 
fiercer  than  those  which  consumed 
the    Alexandrian   library.      This,  in 


46        Ct  Cloub  of  XPttnesses* 

essence,  must  remain  pure  as  gold  and 
unconsumable  as  asbestos. 

1813-1878.      — Ge;orge;  G11.F11.1.AN. 

961  T  has  been  subjected,    along  with 

■  many  others  books,  to  the  fire  of 
the  keenest  investigation  —  a  fire 
which  has  contemptuously  burned  up 
the  cosmogony  of  the  Shaster,  the 
absurd  fables  of  the  Koran;  nay,  the 
husbandry  of  the  Georgics,  the  his- 
torical truth  of  lyivy,  the  artistic 
merit  of  many  a  popular  poem,  the  au- 
thority of  many  a  book  of  philosophy 
and  science.  And  yet  there  this  art- 
less, loosely-piled  book  lies  unhurt, 
untouched,  with  not  one  page  singed ; 
and  not  even  the  smell  of  fire  has 
passed  upon  it.  — Ibid, 

97 1    BKI.IKVK  in  God,  and  adore  him. 

■  I  have  a  firm  belief  in  the  history 
contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments and  in  the  regeneration  of  the 
human  race  by  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I  bow  before  the  mysteries 
of  the  Bible  and  the  gospel,  and  I 
hold    myself    aloof    from     scientific 


a  (Eloub  of  IDitnesses,        47 


discussion   and    solutions    by   which 
men  have  attempted  to  explain  them. 
— Francois  Pierre;  Guili^aume; 
1 787-1874.  GuizoT. 

981-1  OlyD  fast  to  the  Bible  as  the  sheet 
*  *  anchor  to  your  liberties,  write  its 
precepts  in  your  hearts,  and  practice 
them  in  your  lives.  To  the  influence 
of  this  Book  we  are  indebted  for  all 
progress  made  in  our  true  civilization, 
and  to  this  we  must  look  as  our  guide 
in  the  future.  — U.  S.  Grant, 

1822-1885.  i8th  President  U.  S. 

99T  HIS  is  the  cannon  (the  Bible)  that 
■      will  make  Italy  free. 

1 807-1 882.  ^Giuseppe  Garibai^di. 

I001¥J  ;g  all  require  to  feed  in  the  pas- 
^  tures  and  to  drink  at  the  wells  of 
Holy  Scripture. 

— W1I.I.IAM  EWART  G1.ADSTONE;. 


loi  I  F  I  am  asked  what  is  the  remedy 
'  for  the  deeper  sorrows  of  the  hu- 
man heart — what  a  man  should  chiefly 


48        a  (Eloub  of  IPitnesscs, 


look  to  in  his  progress  through  life 
as  the  power  that  is  to  sustain  him 
under  trials  and  enable  him  man- 
fully to  confront  his  afflictions — I 
must  point  to  something  which  in  a 
well-known  hymn  is  called  ''The  old, 
old  story,"  told  of  an  old,  old  Book, 
and  taught  with  an  old,  old  teaching, 
which  is  the  greatest  and  best  gift 
ever  given  to  mankind.  — /did. 

102  1 1^  is  impossible  to  mentally  or  so- 

■  cially  enslave  a  Bible-reading  peo- 
ple. The  principles  of  the  Bible  are 
the  ground-work  of  human  freedom. 

1811-1872.        — Horace:  Greeley. 

^<^3  MO  criticism  will  be  able  to  perplex 

■  the  confidence  I  have  entertained 
in  a  writing  whose  contents  have 
stirred  up  and  given  life  to  my  energy 
by  its  own. 

— ^JoHANN  Wolfgang  von  Goethe. 
1749-1833. 

104  |T  is  a  belief  in  the  Bible,  the  fruits 

■  of  deep  meditation,  which  has 
served  me  as  the  guide  of  my  moral 


<X  Cloub  of  XDitnesses.        49 


and  literary  life.  I  have  found  it  a 
capital  safely  invested,  and  richly 
productive  of  interest.  — /did. 

105  I  KSTKBM  the  Gospels  to  be  thor- 
'  oughly  genuine,  for  there  shines 
forth  from  them  the  reflected  splendor 
of  a  sublimity  proceeding  from  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ  of  so  divine  a 
kind  as  only  the  divine  could  have 
manifested  upon  earth.  — /did. 

loSnr'HE  farther  the  ages  advance  in 
■  cultivation,  the  more  can  the  Bi- 
ble be  used,  partly  as  the  foundation, 
partly  as  the  means  of  education,  not, 
of  course,  by  superficial,  but  by  really 
wise  men.  — /did. 

107  I  T  is  a  sacred  duty  to  hear  and  de- 
■    voutly  read  the  Word  of  God. 
— Cardinal  Gibbons, 
In  sermon  in  Cathedral  at  Baltimore. 
1834— 

108 WHATEVER  changes  we  may  ex- 
^     pect  to  be    introduced    by  new 
discoveries,   in   our   present  view  of 
4 


50        (X  (£Ioub  of  XDitnesses* 


the  universe  and  the  globe  the  prom- 
inent traits  of  this  vast  picture  will 
remain.  And  these  only  are  traced 
out  in  this  admirable  account  of  Gen- 
esis. These  outlines  were  sufficient 
for  the  moral  purposes  of  the  book; 
the  scientific  details  are  for  us  pa- 
tiently to  investigate.  They  were, 
no  doubt,  unknown  to  Moses,  as  the 
details  of  the  life  and  of  the  work  of 
the  Savior  were  unknown  to  the 
great  prophets  who  announced  his 
coming,  and  traced  out  with  master 
hand  his  character  and  objects,  cen- 
turies before  his  appearance  on  earth. 
But  the  same  divine  hand  which 
lifted  up  before  the  eyes  of  Daniel 
and  of  Isaiah  the  veil  which  covered 
the  tableau  of  the  time  to  come,  un- 
veiled before  the  eyes  of  the  author 
of  Genesis  the  earliest  ages  of  crea- 
tion. And  Moses  was  the  prophet 
of  the  past,  as  Daniel  and  Isaiah  and 
many  others  were  the  prophets  of  the 
future.  — Arnold  He;nry  Guyot. 
I 807-1 884. 


CI  Cloub  of  XDttnesses.        51 


109  To  say  that  the  Hebrew  literature 
is  the  best  literature  that  the 
world  has  ever  produced  is  to  say  very 
little.  It  is  separated  widely  from 
all  other  sacred  writings.  Its  con- 
structive ideas  are  as  far  above  those 
of  the  other  books  of  religion  as  the 
heavens  are  above  the  earth.  I  pity 
the  man  who  has  had  the  Bible  in 
his  hand  from  his  infancy,  and  who 
has  learned  in  his  maturer  years  some- 
thing of  the  literature  of  the  other  re- 
ligions, but  who  now  needs  to  have 
this  statement  verified. 

— Washington  Gladden, 
"Who  Wrote  the  Bible?"  p.  15. 


no  ttlBLKS  laid  open — millions  of  sur- 
prises!  George  Herbert. 

1593-1632. 


II 


I  TThIS  Book  of  stars  lights  to  eter- 
nal bliss.  — Ibid. 


112  The    Bible   is   common    sense    in- 
spired. — R.  HowELi^. 


52        a  Cloub  of  IDxtnesses. 


113  CYSTKMATIC  study  of  the  Sacred 
^^  Scriptures  is  essential  to  the  pro- 
motion of  a  spiritual  life. 

1 802- 1 887.  — Mark  Hopkins. 


"4  pvKRY  leaf  is    a    spacious   plain, 
every  line  a  flowing  brook,  every 
period  a  lofty  mountain. 

1 7 14-1758.  — James  Hervey. 


115  The  Bible  is  the  most  sensible  book 
in  the  world.  The  maiden  does 
not  find  her  chapter  in  the  Bible  from 
which  she  passes  away  when  she  comes 
among  mothers,  to  find  her  new  sec- 
tion ready  for  her;  but  the  whole  Bi- 
ble is  the  common  heritage  of  mother 
and  maiden.  — ^John  Hali*. 

1829— 

116 The  Word  of  God  is  solid;  it  will 

stand  a  thousand  readings;  and 

the  man  who  has  gone  over  it   the 

most  frequently  and  carefully  is  the 

surest  of  finding  new  wonders  there. 

1814-1867.         — ^James  Hamilton. 


d  (£Ioub  of  IDitnesses,        53 
^ 

1^7  In  preparing  a  guide  to  immortality, 
infinite  wisdom  gave  not  a  diction- 
ary nor  a  grammar,  but  a  Bible — a 
Book  which,  in  trying  to  catch  the 
heart  of  man,  should  captivate  his 
taste,  and  which,  in  transforming  his 
affections,  should  also  expand  his  in- 
tellect, —/did.  " 

ii8"^HE  most  illiterate  Christian,  if  he 
can  but  read  his  English  Bible, 
will  not  only  attain  all  that  practical 
knowledge  which  is  essential  to  sal- 
vation, but,  by  God's  blessing,  he  will 
become  learned  in  everything  relating 
to  his  religion. 

•-  SAMUEIy  HORSI.EY. 

1 733-1806. 

119  ^OME  of  the  pleasantest  recollec- 
^^  tions  of  my  childhood  are  con- 
nected with  the  voluntary  study  of 
an  ancient  Bible  which  belonged  to 
my  grandmother.  I  enumerate,  as 
they  issue,  the  childish  impressions 
which  come  crowding  out  of  the 
pigeon-holes  in  my  brain,  in  which 


54        ^  <Llonb  of  XDttnesses, 
.^ — - 

they   have    lain    almost   undisturbed 
for  forty  years. 

— Thomas  Henry  Huxley. 
1825— 

120 1  HAVE  always  been  strongly  in 
■  favor  of  secular  education,  in  the 
sense  of  education  without  theology; 
but  I  must  confess  I  have  been  no 
less  seriously  perplexed  to  know  by 
what  practical  measures  the  religious 
feeling,  which  is  the  essential  basis 
of  conduct,  was  to  be  kept  up,  in  the 
present  utterly  chaotic  state  of  opin- 
ion on  these  matters,  without  the  use 
of  the  Bible.  The  pagan  moralists 
lack  life  and  color ;  and  even  the  no- 
ble stoic,  Marcus  Antoninus,  is  too 
high  and  refined  for  an  ordinary  child. 
Take  the  Bible  as  a  whole ;  make  the 
severest  deductions  which  fair  criti- 
cism can  dictate,  and  there  still  re- 
mains in  this  old  literature  a  vast  re- 
siduum of  moral  beauty  and  grandeur. 
By  the  study  of  what  other  book 
could  children  be  so  much  human- 
ized ?  If  Bible-reading  is  not  accom- 
panied by  constraint  and  solemnity, 


d  dloub  of  IDttnesse?.        55 


I  do  not  believe  there  is  anything  in 
which  children   take   more  pleasure. 
— Ibid.,  in  public  address. 


^21  I  HOLD  to  the  Bible  as  a  great  edu- 
■  cator.  It  is  an  unquestioned  fact 
that  for  the  last  three  centuries  this 
Book  has  been  woven  into  all  that  is 
best  and  noblest  in  English  literature 
and  history.  — Ibid. 


122 


FOR  fifty  years  I  have  been  study- 
ing the  Bible  with  all  my  might, 
digging  into  it  and  searching  it 
through  and  through,  and  it  is  al- 
ways fresh.  I  seem  still  to  be  only 
scratching  the  surface. 

1781-1865.       Charles  J.  Hoare, 

Archdeacon  of  Surry. 

I23llf«  H  are  astonished  to  find  in  a  lyr- 

■■     ical  poem,  so  limited  in  compass, 
the  whole  universe— the  heavens  and 
the  earth — sketched  with  a  few  bold 
touches. 
— Baron  William  von  Humboldt, 
1 767-1 835.  On  Psalm  civ. 


56        a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses, 
•♦< 

124/1  LL  that  has  been  done  to  weaken 
the  foundation  of  an  implicit  faith 
in  the  Bible,  as  a  whole,  has  been  at 
the  expense  of  the  sense  of  religious 
obligation,  and  at  the  cost  of  human 
happiness.  — J.  G.  Holland. 

1819-1881. 

^25l¥#B  believe  that  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
form  a  collection  of  laws  never  to  be 
repealed;  of  infallible  judgments 
never  to  be  reversed ;  of  answers  to  the 
most  momentous  inquiries  man  can 
propose,  answers  never  to  be  recalled; 
all  the  information  which  heaven 
deems  necessary  for  earth — so  sufl&- 
cient  that  no  serious  doubts  can  ever 
be  started,  no  important  question  ever 
arise  on  any  moral  subject,  which  it 
has  not  anticipated,  and  to  which  it 
does  not  reply.  — John  Harris. 

1667-1719. 

126  I  SEE  that  the  Bible  fits   into  every 

fold    and    crevice    of    the    human 

heart.     I  am  a  man;  and  I  believe 


d  (Lloub  of  IDttncsses,        57 
,^ 

that   this  is   God's   Book,   because  it 
is  man's  Book.      — He;nry  Hallam. 
1777-1859. 

127  ■INHERE    is   scarcely    any   part    of 

knowledge   worthy  of  the  mind 
of  man   but  from    Scripture    it   may 
have  some  direction  and  light. 
1553-1600.         — Richard  Hooker. 

128  What  a  Book  !    Vast  and  wide  as 

the  world,  rooted  in  the  abysses 
of  Creation,  and  towering  up  behind 
the  blue  secrets  of  heaven.  Sunrise 
and  sunset,  promise  and  fulfillment, 
birth  and  death,  the  whole  drama  of 
humanity,  all  in  this  Book  ! 

1 797-1847.  — Heinrich  Heine. 

129  I  ATTRIBUTE  my  illumination  en- 

tirely and  simply  to  the  reading  of 
a  book.  Yes,  and  it  is  an  old,  homely 
book,  modest  as  nature,  also  as  nat- 
ural as  she  herself — a  book  which  has 
a  work-a-day  and  unassuming  look, 
like  the  sun  which  warms  us,  like  the 
bread  which  nourishes  us — a  book 
which   looks  at  us   as   cordially   and 


58        CI  (Eloub  of  IPttnesses. 


blessingly  as  the  old  grandmother 
who  daily  reads  in  it  with  her  dear 
trembling  lips,  and  with  her  specta- 
cles on  her  nose;  and  this  book  is 
called  shortly  the  book,  the  bible. 
With  right  is  this  named  the  Holy 
Scripture ;  he  who  has  lost  his  God 
can  find  him  again  in  this  book,  and 
he  who  has  never  known  him  is  here 
struck  by  the  breath  of  the  Divine 
Word.  —Ibid. 


^30 1  N  a  few  chosen  sentences  we  acquire 
■  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
affairs  of  Egypt,  Tyre,  Syria,  As- 
syria, Babylon,  and  other  neigh- 
boring nations  than  had  been  pre- 
served to  us  in  all  the  other  remains 
of  antiq^uity  up  to  the  recent  discov- 
eries in  hieroglyphical  and  cuneiform 
monuments. 

—  Arthur  Hervey, 
Smith  B.  Die.  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1561,  Am.  Ed. 

13^  I  F  an  uninterested  spectator,  after  a 
i  careful  perusal  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, were  asked  what  he  conceived 
to  be  its  distinguishing  characteristic, 


Ct  (£Ioub  of  IPttnesses,        59 
4. — » 

he  would  reply  without  hesitation, 
"That  wonderful  spirit  of  philan- 
thropy by  which  it  is  distinguished." 
It  is  a  perpetual  commentary  on  that 
eternal  aphorism,  *'God  is  love." 
1 764-1 83 1.  — Robert  Hali,. 

132  /■  lyL  human  discoveries  seem  to  be 
n  made  only  for  the  purpose  of 
confirming  more  and  more  strongly 
the  truths  contained  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

—  John  Frederick  Wiluam 
Herschel. 
1792-1871. 

133 1  N  those  fragments,  there  is  the  tri- 
■  umph  of  the  great  Personality  of 
all  time.  Lord  of  Life,  we  call  him 
wisely.  Because  the  Bible  incloses 
the  Four  Gospels,  explains,  illus- 
trates, leads  down  to  them  and  leads 
back  to  them ;  because,  so  leading,  it 
shows  always  that  life  is  always  mas- 
ter, and  that  forms  obey— forms, 
methods,  law,  fashion,  and  all  the 
outside — that  these  obey  and  must 
obey ;  because  the  Bible  is  the  Book 


6o       a  (Lloub  of  IDttnesses, 


of  Life,  and  the  Book  of  the  Lord  of 
Life — because  of  this  it  keeps  its 
hold  upon  the  world. 

1822 —    — Edward  Everett  Hale. 

134QIVK  to  the  people  who  toil  and 
^  suffer,  for  whom  this  world  is 
hard  and  bad,  the  belief  that  there  is 
a  better  made  for  them ;  scatter  the 
gospel  among  the  villages,  a  Bible 
for  every  cottage. 

1 802- 1 885.    — ^Victor  Marie  Hugo. 

135  y  HEY  have  the  Bible.— John  Jay, 

■  First  Chief  Justice  U.  S.,  when 
asked  if  he  had  any  farewell  address 
to  leave  his  children. 

1745-1829. 

136  ^HAT  Book  is  the  rock  on  which 

■  the  Republic  stands. 

— Andrew  Jackson, 
1 767-1 845.  7th  President  U.  S. 

137  I  HAVE  always  said,  and  always 
■  will  say,  that  the  studious  perusal 
of  the  Sacred  Volume  will  make  bet- 
ter citizens,  better  fathers,  and  better 
husbands.         — Thomas  Jeeferson, 

1743-1826.  3d  President  U.  S. 


<X  Cloub  of  XDxtmsszs.       6i 


*38  1  HAVE  carefully  and  regularly  pe- 
■  rused  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  am 
of  opinion  that  the  volume,  inde- 
pendently of  its  Divine  origin,  con- 
tains more  sublimity,  purer  morality, 
more  important  history,  and  finer 
strains,  both  of  poetry  and  elo- 
quence, than  could  be  collected 
within  the  same  compass  from  all 
other  books  that  were  ever  composed 
in  any  age  or  in  any  idiom. 
.  1 746-1 798.  —  W.  Jones. 


i39rjOD  in  tender  indulgence  to  our 
^  different  dispositions  has  strewed 
the  Bible  with  flowers,  dignified  it 
with  wonders,  and  enriched  it  with 
delight.  — F.  Joubert. 

1689-1763. 

140  YOUNG  man,  attend  to  the  voice 
■     of  one  who  has  possessed  a  cer- 
tain degree    of   fame,  and  who   will 
shortly  appear  before  his  Maker.  Read 
the  Bible  every  day  of  your  life. 
1 709-1 784.      —Samuel  Johnson, 
In  conversation. 


62        (X  Cloub  of  XPttnesses. 

HI  Q[TIKS  fall,  kingdoms  come  to 
nothing,  empires  fade  away  as 
smoke.  Where  is  Numa,  Minos, 
lyycurgus?  Where  are  their  books, 
and  what  is  become  of  their  laws  ? 
But  that  this  Book  no  tyrant  should 
have  been  able  to  consume,  no  tradi- 
tion to  choke,  no  heretic  maliciously 
to  corrupt;  that  it  should  stand  unto 
this  day,  amid  the  wreck  of  all  that 
is  human,  without  the  alteration  of 
one  sentence  so  as  to  change  the  doc- 
trine taught  therein, — surely  there  is 
a  very  singular  providence  claiming 
our  attention  in  a  most  remarkable 
manner.  — John  Jewell, 

1 522-1 57 1.  Bishop  of  Salisbury, 

142  lOOK  in  the  Holy   Scriptures  for 

truth,  not  for  eloquence,  and  read 

them  with  that  mind  wherewith  they 

were   written — for   thine    everlasting 

profit,  and  not  for  a  polished  phrase. 

1 380-1 47 1.        — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

143  The  general  diflfusion  of  the  Bible 

is  the  most  effectual  way  to  civil- 
ize and  humanize  mankind ,  to  purify 


a  Cloub  of  XDitnesses.       63 
^' 

and  exalt  tiie  general  system  of  pub- 
lic morals ;  to  give  efficacy  to  the  just 
precepts  of  international  and  munic- 
ipal law;  to  enforce  the  observance  of 
prudence,  temperance,  justice,  and 
fortitude ;  to  improve  all  the  relations 
of  social  and  domestic  life. 
1 763-1847.  —James  Kent, 

Chancellor  of  N.  Y. 

X44  The  Bible  of  the  Christian  is,  with- 
out exception,  the  most  remark- 
able work  now  in  existence.  In  the 
libraries  of  the  learned  are  frequently 
seen  books  of  an  extraordinary  antiq- 
uity, and  curious  and  interesting  from 
the  nature  of  their  contents;  but  none 
approach  the  Bible,  taken  in  its  com- 
plete sense,  in  point  of  age,  while  cer- 
tainly no  production  whatever  has 
any  pretensions  to  rival  it  in  dignity 
of  composition  or  the  important  na- 
ture of  the  subjects  treated  of  in  its 
pages.  —John  Kitto. 

1804-1854. 


64        Ct  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 


^45  IN  regard  to  the  great  Book  I  have 
'  only  to  say,  it  is  the  best  book  God 
has  given  to  man.  All  the  good  from 
the  Savior  of  the  world  is  communi- 
cated in  this  Book. 

1 809-1 865.     — Abbraham  Lincoln, 
i6th  President  U.  S.  (to  the  colored  men 
of  Baltimore,  who  presented  him  with 
a  Bible,  September  14,  1864). 


146  ^^HB  Bible  is  a  book  in  comparison 
1  with  which  all  others  in  my  eyes 
are  of  minor  importance,  and  which 
in  all  my  perplexities  and  distresses 
has  never  failed  to  give  me  light  and 
strength. 

—  Robert  E.  I/EE. 
1 807-1 870. 


147^  HE  Bible  is  indeed  the  most  in- 
1  teresting  book  in  the  world — to 
the  poet,  to  the  historian,  to  the  phi- 
losopher, to  the  student  of  human  na- 
ture, to  the  lover  of  the  picturesque 
and  of  the  marvelous,  to  the  archaeol- 
ogist, to  the  man  of  letters,  to  the 
man  of  afiairs.     To  each  of  these  it 


CI  (£(ou6  of  IDitnesses.        65 
^ 

has  much  to  say  that  he  will  find  no- 
where else. 

— Henry  Parry  Liddon. 
Sermon :  "  Supreme  Value  of  the  Scrip- 
tures," preached  in  St.  Paul's. 
1829-1890. 

148  'I^HK  best  literature  of  thirty  cen- 
■  turies  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible. 
Warriors  have  fought  for  it;  mar- 
tyrs have  died  for  it.  The  sacred 
books  of  the  Christian,  Mohamme- 
dan, and  the  works  of  the  philos- 
ophers have  stolen  its  brightest  gems. 
It  fired  the  eloquence  of  an  Akiba 
and  a  Chrysostom,  "upon  whose  lips 
the  bees  settled  and  left  their  honey 
there."  It  suggested  the  divine 
poems  of  Halevi,  Racine,  and  Milton. 
It  awoke  the  intrepid  genius  of  Maim- 
onides,  Spinoza,  and  Mendelssohn.  It 
inspired  the  pictures  of  Raphael,  the 
sculptures  of  Angelo,  the  music  of 
Mendelssohn,  Meyerbeer,  Handel. 
This  Book  has  destroyed  tyranny. 
— Rabbi  J.  Leonard  L,evy. 


66        (X  Cloub  of  tPttnesses. 
•♦« 

^49  I  AM  heartily  glad  to  witness  your 
veneration  for  a  Book  which,  to 
say  nothing  of  its  holiness  or  author- 
ity, contains  more  specimens  of  genius 
and  taste  than  any  other  volume  in 
existence. 

— ^Walter  Savage  I^andor. 
1775-1864. 

150  ^HB  Bible  is  the  Book  of  life,  writ- 
ten for  the  instruction  and  edifi- 
cation of  all  ages  and  nations.  No 
man  who  has  felt  its  divine  beauty 
and  power  would  exchange  this  one 
volume  for  all  the  literature  of  the 
world.  — ^JoHANN  Peter  Lange. 

I 802-1 884. 

^51  In  morality  there  are  books  enough 
written,  both  by  ancient  and  modern 
philosophers ;  but  the  morality  of  the 
Gospel  doth  so  exceed  them  all,  that 
to  give  a  man  a  full  knowledge  of 
true  morality  I  shall  send  him  to  no 
other  book  than  the  New  Testament. 
1 632-1 704.  — John  Locke. 


Ct  (£Iou6  of  IPttnesses.        67 
— — -*' 

^52  r^AN  can  weary  himself  in  any- 
secular  affair,  but  diligently  to 
search  the  Scripture  is  to  him  tedious 
and  burdensome.  Few  covet  to  be 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  though  con- 
vinced their  great  concern  is  en- 
veloped in  them.  — /did. 

153  I  CAN  not  attempt  to  describe  this 
moral  power  of  Holy  Scripture  in 
language.  I  dare  not  hope  to  add 
anything  to  the  image  of  the  text 
(Hebrews  iv,  12,  13).  The  joints  and 
the  marrow  of  the  human  soul  and 
spirit — the  most  complex  interdepend- 
encies  of  passion  and  thought  and 
purpose  and  action,  and  the  vital  cen- 
ter and  home  of  the  moral  life — both 
these  the  Word  of  God  probes  and 
severs  and  lays  bare.  It  is  just  this 
dissecting  power,  this  keen  penetra- 
tion of  the  Scriptural  record,  which 
is  its  most  wonderful  moral  feature. 
I  have  read  in  other  books  many  wise 
and  beautiful  reflections  on  the  rela- 
tions of  God  and  man,  on  life  and 
death,  on  time  and  eternity;  many 
lofty  precepts  and  salutary  rules  for 


68        CX  Cloub  of  IPitnesses, 
>*• 

the  guidance  of  human  conduct — much 
of  all  kinds  which  instructs,  improves, 
elevates.  I  have  read  such  with  deep 
thankfulness;  and  I  believe  that  all 
light,  whatever  it  may  be,  comes  from 
the  great  Father  of  lights.  But  in  no 
other  book,  unless  its  inspiration  has 
been  derived  from  this  Book,  do  I 
find  the  same  delicate  discrimination 
between  the  real  and  the  seeming  in 
things  moral,  the  same  faculty  of 
piercing  through  the  crust  of  outward 
conduct,  and  revealing  the  hidden 
springs  of  action,  of  stripping  off  all 
conventional  disguises,  of  separating 
mixed  motives,  with  their  contradic- 
tory elements  of  good  and  evil.  This 
analyzing,  dissecting  moral  power  is 
the  logical  attribute  of  the  Written 
Word. 

— Joseph  Barber  I^ightfoot, 
Bishop  of   Durham,   in  Cambridge  Ser- 
1 828-1 889.  mens. 

154  IpNGDOMS  may  be  moved,  thrones 
*^  pass  away,  generations  go  down 
to  the  valley  of  death,  customs  change, 
languages  alter,  but  so  long  as  the 


a  Cloub  of  XPitnesses.        69 


earth  endureth,  the  morality,  doc- 
trines, and  precepts  of  the  Bible 
shall  continue  among  men.  In  vain 
is  the  cry  against  it,  bootless  the  toil 
to  make  it  obsolete,  rash  and  foolish 
the  attempt  to  turn  it  into  ridicule ; 
it  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  fire, 
watched  over  by  that  eye  which 
flashes  destruction  on  its  foes. 

— William  I^eask, 
"Beauties   of  the  Bible,"  p.  303.      Par- 
tridge &  Co.,  London,  2d  Ed. 


1550  UT  the  child  is  not  allowed  to  re- 
■^  ject  its  primer  because  the  con- 
junction of  letters  into  words,  and 
words  into  sentences,  is  a  mystery; 
and  we  are  not  in  the  habit  of  tossing 
away  a  rose  in  disdain  because  we  are 
ignorant  concerning  the  mysteries  of 
its  life,  its  velvet  texture,  its  colors, 
and  its  delicious  fragrance;  on  the 
contrary,  these  all  give  it  a  sort  of 
saored  attraction,  as  if  it  must  have 
bloomed  originally  in  the  garden  of 
the  Lord.  So  the  veiled  mysteries  of 
the  Bible  are  interwoven  with  its  tex- 


70        (X  (Eloub  of  tPitnesses. 


ture,  and  impart  to  it  a  sacred  beauty, 
of  which  without  them  it  would  have 
been  destitute.  — /did.,  p.  17. 

156  "^HE  astonishing  variety  of  subjects 
■  in  the  Bible  may  be  thus  con- 
densed; History,  like  a  picture,  re- 
producing an  extensive  landscape ;  bi- 
ography, immortalizing  certain  minds 
and  retaining  their  duplicates  upon 
the  earth  for  the  imitation  or  warn- 
ing of  subsequent  generations ;  proph- 
ecy, anticipating  the  world's  future; 
doctrines,  which  are  clustered  in 
the  moral  firmament,  deep  as  the 
nature  of  Deity  and  resplendent  with 
the  luster  of  his  brightness;  precepts, 
which  find  their  way  direct  to  the 
heart  of  man;  denunciations,  which 
impress  the  soul  with  awful  feelings ; 
appeals,  which  demonstrate  the  Di- 
vine solicitude  ;  promises,  which  pour 
the  warm  love  of  a  Father's  heart 
upon  burdened  souls;  epistles,  in 
which  the  thoughts  of  one  man 
are  familiarly  given  to  another: 
and  poetry,  in  which  the  hallelu- 
jahs of  heaven  are  brought  down  to 


CI  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.        71 


earth,  and  the  grand  future  of  the 
Church  and  the  world  is  sung  in 
strains  of  rapture  and  bursts  of  mag- 
nificent imagery,  such  as  never  yet 
issued  from  uninspired  pen. 

—Ibid.,  p.  7. 


I57»|*HBRK  are  no  songs  comparable 
I  to  the  songs  of  Zion,  no  orations 
equal  to  those  of  the  prophets,  and 
no  politics  like  those  which  the  Scrip- 
tures teach.  — John  Mii^ton. 
1 608- 1 675. 


158  I T  is  not  hard  for  any  man  who  hath 
I  a  Bible  in  his  hand  to  borrow  good 
words  and  holy  sayings  in  abundance. 

—Ibid. 


159 1 VF  HOHVKR  would  acquire  a  knowl- 
W    edge  of  pure  English  must  study 
King  James's   version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. 
— Thomas  Babington  : 

1800-1859.  (lyORD   MACAUIyAY.) 


72        0,  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 

-4 

i6o  /If  the  time  when  the  odious  style 
**  which  deforms  the  writings  of 
Hall  and  of  Lord  Bacon  was  almost 
universal,  had  appeared  that  stupen- 
dous work,  the  English  Bible,  a  Book 
which,  if  everything  else  in  our  lan- 
guage should  perish,  would  alone 
suffice  to  show  the  whole  extent  of 
its  beauty  and  power.  — /dzd. 

i6i  |T  is  certain,  certain  on  the  confes. 

sion  of  its  enemies,  that  a  pure  and 
high  morality  is  to  be  gathered  only 
from  the  pages  of  the  Bible. 

1798-187 1.         — Henry  Melville;, 
Chaplain-in-ordinary  to  Queen  Victoria. 

i62l¥#B  are  persuaded  that  there  is  no 

book  by  the  perusal  of  which  the 

mind  is  so  much  strengthened  and  so 

much  enlarged  as  it  is  by  the  perusal 

of  the  Bible.  —/did. 

163  The  Bible  furnishes  the  only  fitting 
■     vehicle  to  express  the  thoughts 
that  overwhelm  us  when  contemplat- 
ing the  stellar  universe. 
1 809-1 862.  — O.  M.  Mitchell. 


Ct  Cloub  of  IDitncsses.        73 
^, 

164^^  HE  Bible  makes  everything  speak 
■  for  God.  God,  in  these  last  days, 
has  made  everything  speak  for  the 
Bible.  Even  the  stone  has  cried 
out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out 
of  the  timber  has  answered  it,  "that 
prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the 
will  of  man,  but  holy  men  of  God 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

— Herbert  W.  Morris, 
"  Testimony  of  the  Ages,"  p.  5. 

i65lVf  HEN  you  write  to  me,  tell  me 
^  the  meanings  of  Scripture;  one 
gem  from  that  ocean  is  worth  all  the 
pebbles  of  earthly  streams. 

— Robert  Murray  McCheyne. 
181 3-1843. 

166 1  HAVE  always  found  in  my  sci- 
*  entific  studies  that,  when  I  could 
get  the  Bible  to  say  anything  upon 
the  subject,  it  afforded  me  a  firm  plat- 
form to  stand  upon,  and  a  round  in 
the  ladder  by  which  I  could  safely 
ascend. 
— Lieut.  Matthew  Fontaine  Maury. 
1806-1873. 


74        <^  (Lloub  of  XPttnesses. 


i67S|»HE  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God— 
I  with  all  the  peculiarities  of  man 
and  all  the  authority  of  God. 

Professor  J.  G.  Murphy. 


1 68  w^HE  vigor  of  our  spiritual  life  will 
E  be  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
place  held  by  the  Word  in  our  life  and 
thoughts.  I  can  solemnly  state  this 
from  the  experience  of  fifty-four 
years.  The  first  three  years  after  con- 
version I  neglected,  comparatively, 
the  Word  of  God.  Since  the  time 
I  began  to  search  it  diligently  the 
blessing  has  been  wonderful,  I  have 
read  since  then  the  Bible  through  one 
hundred  times,  and  each  time  with  in- 
creasing delight.  When  I  begin  it 
afresh,  it  always  seems  like  a  new 
book  to  me.  Since  July,  1820,  I  can 
not  tell  you  how  great  has  been  the 
blessing  from  consecutive,  diligent, 
daily  study.  I  look  upon  it  as  a  lost 
day  when  I  have  not  had  a  good  time 
over  the  Word  of  God. 
1805 —  — Ge;orge:  Muller. 


(X  CIou6  of  IDttnesses,        75 
.+. 

<69  PRECISELY  so  has  it  been  with 
*  these  latent  scientific  prophecies 
or  anticipations  of  the  Word  of  God, 
of  which  we  have  been  vSpeaking, 
which  seem  to  have  been  so  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  sacred  text  that  the 
world  has  not  seen  them  hitherto,  nor, 
indeed,  could  see  them  now,  were  it 
not  that  our  advancing  science  is  re- 
vealing them.  The  geologic  prophe- 
cies, though  they  might  have  been 
read,  could  not  be  understood  till 
the  fullness  of  the  time  had  come. 
And  it  is  only  as  the  fullness  of  the 
time  comes,  in  the  brighter  light  of 
increasing  scientific  knowledge,  that 
these  grand  old  oracles  of  the  Bible,  so 
apparently  simple,  but  so  marvelously 
pregnant  with  meaning,  stand  forth 
at  once  cleared  of  all  erroneous  hu- 
man glosses,  and  vindicated  as  the  in- 
spired testimonies  of  Jehovah. 
1802-1856.  — Hugh  Miller. 

170  INDEED,  it  is  only  in  the  Bible  that 
■  we  find  a  large,  free,  and  unpreju- 
diced history,  for  the   reason  that  it 


76        (X  (Eloub  of  XPitnesses* 


is  taught  incidentally.  When  we  read 
Hume,  we  read  Toryism ;  or  Macaulay, 
Whiggism;  and  thus  nearly  all  his- 
tory is  shot  through  with  human  prej- 
udice, and  wears  the  limitations  of  a 
single  mind.  But  the  Bible  simply  re- 
flects the  ages;  they  shine  through 
its  pages  by  their  own  light.  And, 
above  all,  it  gives  us  the  secret  of  his- 
tory ;  it  tells  us  why  and  for  what  end 
the  nations  have  existed,  and  shows 
us  whither  they  are  tending.  And 
this  is  what  a  true  student  of  history 
desires  to  learn — not  how  the  forces 
were  marshaled  at  Waterloo,  but  by 
what  force  and  toward  what  goal  hu- 
manity is  moving. 

— Theodore  T.  Hunger, 
1830 —  In  the  Christian  Union. 


171  JJ  ND  will  this  old  Bible  of  King 
■^  James's  version  continue  to  be 
held  in  highest  reverence?  Speaking 
from  a  literary  point  of  view,  which  is 
our  standpoint  to-day,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  will ;  nor  is  there  good 
reason    to   believe   that,    on    literary 


(X  <£loub  of  IDitnesses.        77 


lines,  any  other  will  ever  supplant  it. 
There  may  be  versions  that  will  be 
truer  to  the  Greek;  there  may  be 
versions  that  will  be  far  truer  to  the 
Hebrew;  there  may  be  versions  that 
will  mend  its  science,  that  will  mend 
its  archaeology,  and  will  mend  its  his- 
tory; but  never  one,  I  think,  which, 
as  a  whole,  will  greatly  mend  that 
orderly  and  musical  and  forceful  flow 
of  language  springing  from  early 
English  sources,  chastened  by  Eliza- 
bethan culture  and  flowing  out, 
freighted  with  Christian  doctrine, 
over  all  lands  where  Saxon  speech  is 
uttered.  Nor  in  saying  this  do  I  yield 
a  jot  to  any  one  in  respect  for  that 
modern  scholarship  which  has  shown 
bad  renderings  from  the  Greek,  and 
possibly  far  worse  ones  from  the  He- 
brew. No  one,  it  is  reasonably  to  be 
presumed,  can  safely  interpret  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible  without  the  aid  of 
this  scholarship  and  of  the  "higher 
criticism;"  and  no  one  will  be 
henceforth  fully  trusted  in  such  in- 
terpretation who  is  ignorant  of,  or 
who    scorns,    the    recent    revisions. 


78       a  (£Ioub  of  IDttnesses. 


And  yet  the  old  book,  by  reason  of 
its  strong,  sweet,  literary  quality, 
will  keep  its  hold  on  most  hearts  and 
minds.        — Donald  G.  MitchkIvI., 

(Ik  Marvel,)  "  In  English  Lands,  Let- 
ters and  Kings." 

1822— 


^72  I   FIND  more  sure  marks  of  authen- 
ticity  in  the  Bible  than  in  any  pro- 
fane history  whatever. 

1642-1 727.  —  Isaac  Newton. 


^73  VU'B  account  the  Scriptures  of  God 
to   be   the  most  sublime  philos- 
ophy. — /did. 


174THK  Bible   begins  gloriously  with 
paradise,  the    symbol    ol    youth, 
and   ends  with  the  everlasting  king- 
dom, with  the  holy  city.    The  history 
of  every  man  should  be  a  Bible. 

— NOVALIS. 

Frederick  von  Hardenberg. 
1772-1801. 


Ct  €loub  of  IDttnesses,        79 
^ 

175  I    IKK  the  needle  to  the  north  pole, 
the  Bible  points  to  heaven. 

— R.  B.  NicHoi.. 


176  Men  can  not  be  well  educated 
without  the  Bible.  It  ought, 
therefore,  to  hold  the  chief  place  in 
every  situation  of  learning  through- 
out Christendom;  and  I  do  not  know 
of  a  higher  service  that  could  be  ren- 
dered to  this  Republic  than  the  bring- 
ing about  of  this  desired  result. 

1 773-1 866.  — BUPHLALET  NOTT. 


177  /llyL  systems   of  morality  are   fine. 
The  gospel  alone  has  exhibited 
a  complete   assemblage  of  the   prin- 
ciples of  morality  divested  of  all  ab- 
surdity. — Napoleon  I. 
1768-1821. 


i78ttoOK    unique!      Who    but     God 
could  produce  that  idea  of  per- 
fection,  equally   exclusive   and   orig- 
inal ?  — fdzii. 


8o        <X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses, 


179  T*HE  Bible  contains  a  complete  se- 
*  ries  of  facts,  and  of  historical 
men,  to  explain  time  and  eternity, 
such  as  no  other  religion  has  to  offer. 
Everything  in  it  is  grand  and  worthy 
of  God.  Even  the  impious  them- 
selves have  never  dared  to  deny  the 
sublimity  of  the  Gospel,  which  in- 
spires them  with  a  sort  of  compulsory 
veneration.  — /6td. 


180  ^P'HK  Gospel  is  not  merely  a  book, 
■  it  is  a  living  power — a  Book  sur- 
passing all  others.  I  never  omit 
to  read  it,  and  every  da}^  with  the 
same  pleasure.  Nowhere  is  to  be 
found  such  a  series  of  beautiful  ideas 
and  admirable  moral  maxims,  which 
pass  before  us  like  the  battalions  of 
a  celestial  army.  The  soul  can  never 
go  astray  with  this  Book  for  its  guide. 

—Ibid. 


% 


^^^  nEFORE  the  literature  of  Greece 

had   been  thought  of,   song  and 

story  and  the  noblest  inspirations  of 

philosophy  and  poetry  had  come  into 


(X  (Lloub  of  IDttnesses.        8i 


being  upon  the  little  crests  of  Zion 
and  Moriah;  the  Temple  had  been 
there  which  has  never  faded,  though 
destroyed,  burned,  broken  down  a 
dozen  times,  swept  far  from  sight  and 
knowledge,  from  the  memory  and 
imagination  of  men  ;  and  the  records 
of  humanity  had  begun  to  be  put 
forth  in  full  splendor  of  character  and 
impulse  and  feeling,  in  chronicles 
which  are  as  fresh  and  living  now  as 
when  they  were  the  transcripts  of 
the  life  of  three  thousand  years  ago. 
We  go  no  farther  than  the  heroic  age 
of  Hebrew  genius  when  we  name 
this  date;  beyond,  in  the  midst  of 
the  ages,  before  even  ancient  Egypt 
had  begun  to  engrave  her  rigid  an- 
nals upon  stone,  the  record  goes 
back,  not  in  hieroglyphics,  but  in  his- 
tories of  living  men.  A  learned  sect 
studies  and  scrutinizes  with  painful 
confusion  of  images  what  a  great 
Rameses  may  or  may  not  have  done ; 
but  the  child  of  to-day  wants  no  bet- 
ter entertainment  than  that  story  of 
Joseph  and  his  brethren,  which  is  told 
in  every  language,  and  never  fails  to 
6 


82        G,  (£Iou6  of  XPitnesses, 

♦ — 

touch  the  simple  heart.  Before  Ho- 
mer had  begun  his  primitive  minstrel 
strain  to  celebrate  the  fights  and  wiles 
of  the  chiefs  and  kings,  Isaiah  had 
risen  to  the  highest  heights  of  poetry, 
had  opened  the  dim  gates  of  Hades, 
and  had  revealed,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  dazzling  glimpse  of  a  heaven  in 
which  one  God  sat  upon  a  throne  of 
light  and  judged  and  tried  the  spirits 
of  men.  There  is  no  such  record  in 
all  the  histories.  The  Psalms  which 
began  with  David  breathe  forth  the 
deepest  emotions  of  our  race  to-day. 
The  wisdom  which,  throughout  all 
the  tenacious  Bast,  bears  the  name  of 
Solomon,  has  never  been  outpassed 
by  any  successor.  And  when  we  de- 
scend the  course  of  the  ages  and  come 
to  a  still  more  glorious  and  wonder- 
ful history,  it  is  Jerusalem  still  which 
is  the  scene  both  of  tragedy  and  tri- 
umph, of  the  greatest  and  most  won- 
derful life  which  was  ever  lived  among 
men. 

— Margaret  Wilson  OIvIphant, 
1828—  In  "  Jerusalem." 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,        83 
♦ 

182  ^'HE  pure  and  noble,  the  graceful 
■     and  dignified   simplicity  of  lan- 
guage is  nowhere  in  such  perfection 
as  in  the  Scriptures. 

1 688-1 744.        — Alexander  Pope, 


183  |N  a  word,  destroy  this  volume,  and 
■  you  take  from  us  at  once  every- 
thing which  prevents  existence  be- 
coming of  all  curses  the  greatest ;  you 
blot  out  the  sun,  dry  up  the  ocean, 
and  take  away  the  atmosphere  of  the 
moral  world;  and  degrade  man  to  a 
situation  from  which  he  may  look 
up  with  envy  to  that  of  the  brutes 
that  perish.  — Edward  Payson, 

1783-1827. 


184  ^CARCELY  can  we  fix  our  eyes 
^  upon  a  single  passage  in  this  won- 
derful Book  which  has  not  afforded 
comfort  and  instruction  to  thousands, 
and  been  met  with  tears  of  penitential 
sorrow  or  grateful  joy  drawn  from 
eyes  that  will  weep  no  more. 

—/did. 


84        CX  Cloub  of  IDitnesses* 


185  "piE  answer  to  the  Shaster  is  India; 

the  answer  to  Confucianism  is 
China;  the  answer  to  the  Koran  is 
Turkey;  the  answer  to  the  Bible  is 
the  Christian  civiHzation  of  Protest- 
ant Europe  and  America. 

1811-1884.      — Wendeli.  PHI1.1.1PS. 

186  JP^OST  wondrous  book!  bright  can- 

dle of  the  Lord ! 

Star  of  eternity !  the  only  star 

By  which  the  bark  of  man  could  nav- 
igate 

The  sea  of  life,  and  gain  the  coast  of 
bliss 

Securely.  — Robert  Pollok. 

1798-1827. 

187  This  lamp  from  off  the  everlasting 

throne 

Mercy  took  down,  and  in  the  night 
of  time. 

Stood  casting  on  the  dark  her  gra- 
cious bow, 

And  evermore  beseeching  men,  with 
tears 

And  earnest  sighs,  to  hear,  believe, 
and  live.  — Ibid. 


d  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,        85 

•♦• 

188  TT  HIS    Book,    this   holy   Book,    on 

■         every  line 

Marked   with   the    seal   of  high   di- 
vinity— 

On  every  leaf  bedewed  with  drops  of 
love 

Divine,  and  with  the  eternal  heraldry 

And     signature    of    God    Almighty 
stamped 

From  first  to  last.  — /did. 


i89«p^HE  Bible  goes  equally  to  the 
'  cottage  of  the  plain  man  and  the 
palace  of  the  king.  It  is  woven  into 
literature,  and  it  colors  the  talk  of 
the  street.  The  bark  of  the  mer- 
chant can  not  sail  to  sea  without  it. 
No  ship  of  war  goes  to  the  conflict 
but  the  Bible  is  there.  It  enters 
men's  closets,  mingling  in  all  grief 
and  cheerfulness  of  life. 

1810-1871.     —Theodore  Parker. 


190  C  OMK    thousand    famous    writers 
^    come  up  in  this  century,  to  be  for- 
gotten  in  the  next.      But  the  silver 
cord  of  the  Bible  is  not  loosed,  nor 


86        a  Cloub  of  XDiimssts. 


its  golden  bowl  broken,  though 
time  chronicles  his  tens  of  centuries 
passed  by.  — /did. 


ble  across  the  world  from  the 
day  of  Pentecost  to  this  day.  As  a 
river  springs  up  in  the  heart  of  a 
sandy  continent,  having  its  father  in 
the  skies;  as  the  stream  rolls  on, 
making,  in  that  arid  waste,  a  belt  of 
verdure  wherever  it  turns  its  way, 
creating  palm  -  groves  and  fertile 
plains,  where  the  smoke  of  the  cot- 
tage curls  up  at  eventide,  and  marble 
cities  send  the  gleam  of  their  splen- 
dor far  into  the  sky:  such  has  been 
the  course  of  the  Bible  on  earth. 
There  is  not  a  boy  on  all  the  hills  of 
New  England ;  not  a  girl  born  in  the 
filthiest  cellar  which  disgraces  a  cap- 
tal  in  Europe,  and  cries  to  God  against 
the  barbarism  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion; not  a  boy  nor  a  girl  all  Chris- 
tendom through,  but  their  lot  is  made 
better  by  that  great  Book.     — /6zd. 


Ct  Cloub  of  XDttnesses.        87 
^ 

192  I  HAVE  always  felt  atttached  to  this 

Divine  production,  even  when  I 
have  not  believed  myself  one  of  its 
avowed  followers.  With  the  love  of 
God  and  mankind,  it  inspired  me  also 
with  a  veneration  for  justice  and  an 
abhorrence  of  wickedness,  along  with 
a  desire  of  pardoning  the  wicked. 
1 789-1 854.  — Silvio  PeIvLico. 

193  I  LOVE  the  Bible.     I  read  it  every 

day;  and  the  more  I  read  it,  the 
more  I  love  it.  There  are  some  peo- 
ple who  do  not  love  the  Bible.  I  do 
not  understand  them.  I  do  not  un- 
derstand such  people,  but  I  love  it; 
I  love  its  simplicity,  and  I  love  its  very 
repetitions  and  reiterations  of  truth. 
As  I  said,  I  read  it  daily,  and  the  more 
I  read  it,  the  more  I  love  it. 

— The  Emperor  Dom  Pedro  II., 
In  conversation  with  Rev.  J.  C.  Fletcher, 

reported  in  the  N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

1825-1891. 

194  T'HERE  is  no  one  book  extant  in 

any  one  language,  or  in  any  coun- 
try, which  can  in  any  degree  be  com- 


88        (X  (Lloub  of  IDitncsses. 


pared  with  the  Bible  for  antiquity, 
for  authority,  for  the  importance,  the 
dignity,  the  variety,  and  the  curiosity 
of  the  matter  it  contains. 

— Beilby  Porteus, 
1 731-1808.  Bishop  of  IvOndon. 

^QS^P'HE  Scriptures,  having  been 
i  written  at  different  periods  and 
in  divers  languages,  requiring  for 
their  interpretation  the  aid  of  knowl- 
edge that  is  always  increasing,  not 
only  may,  but  must  give  forth  fresh 
light  with  each  new  century. 

1811-1892.  — Noah  Porter, 

From  Sermon  on  "  Religious  Progress," 
in  the  Independent. 


196  /IFTER  reading  the  doctrines  of 
"  Plato,  Socrates,  or  Aristotle,  we 
feel  that  the  specific  difference  be- 
tween their  words  and  Christ's  is  the 
difference  between  an  inquiry  and  a 
revelation.  — Joseph  Parker. 

1830- 

^97  I  AM  impressed  by  the  abundant 
■  evidence  that  your  style  has  been 
unconsciously  formed  by  your  famil- 


a  Cloub  of  IDttncsses.       89 


iarity  with  our  English  Bible,  which 
has  a  unique  worth  in  shaping  a  dic- 
tion equally  pure,  dignified,  easy, 
graceful,  and  euphonious.  Did  I 
kuow  nothing  about  you  personally, 
I  should  infer  from  your  books  that 
you  have  that  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  ipsissima  verba  of  our  Bi- 
ble, which  was  much  more  common 
in  your  and  in  my  earlier  days  than  I 
fear  it  is  among  even  the  sincere  Chris- 
tians of  a  younger  generation.  I  am 
accustomed  to  say  to  young  men  who 
are  ambitious  to  write  well:  "Study 
the  English  Bible.  It  will  be  worth 
more  to  you  than  all  oral  or  written 
rules,  and  than  all  other  examples  of 
English  composition." 

— Andrew  Preston  Peabody, 

To  an  American  Author. 
1811-1893. 

198  ^  HE  most  highly-valued  treasure  of 
■  every  family  library,  and  that  most 
frequently  and  lovingly  made  use  of, 
should  be  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

— Plenary  Council, 
At  Baltimore,  1884. 


90        d  Cloub  of  XPitnesses. 

^. 

1 99  ^OMK  words  excell  in  vertue,  and 

discover 

A  rare  condition,  thrice  repeated 
over. 

Our  Saviour  thrice  was  tempted; 
thrice  represt 

The  assaulting  tempter  with  thrice 
Scriptus  est. 

II  thou  wouldst  keep  thy  soule  se- 
cure from  harme, 

Thou  know'st  the  words :  It  is  a  po- 
tent charme. 

God's  Sacred  Word  is  Uke  the  I^ampe 

of  Day 
Which  softens  wax,  but  makes   ob- 

dure  the  clay  ; 
It  either  melts  the  heart,  or  more  ob- 

dures ; 
It  never  falls   in  vain :  It  wounds  or 

cures, 
1 592-1 644.     — Francis  Quarles, 
In  "  Divine  Fancies,"  1641  A,  D. 

200  I  MUST  confess  the  majesty  of  the 

Scriptures  astonishes  me. 

— Jean  Jacques  Rousseau. 
1712-1778. 


G,  Clou6  of  IDttncsses,        91 

201  How  petty  are   the    books  of  the 

philosphers,  with  all  their  pomp, 
compared  to  the  Gospels  !       — /did. 

202  /I  BAD  heart  is  the  great  objection 

against  the  Holy  Book. 
1648-1680.        — John  Wilmot, 

Earl  of  Rochester. 

203  QhRISTIANITY  is  the  only  true 

and  perfect  religion,  and  in  pro- 
portion as  mankind  adopt  its  prin- 
ciples and  obey  its  precepts,  they 
will  be  wise  and  happy.  And  a  bet- 
ter knowledge  of  this  religion  is  to 
be  acquired  by  reading  the  Bible  than 
in  any  other  way. 

1741-1813.  — Benjamin  Rush. 

204  I    WILL  answer   for   it,  the  longer 

you  read  the  Bible,  the  more  you 
will  like  it.  It  will  grow  sweeter 
and  sweeter;  and  the  more  you  get 
into  the  spirit  of  it,  the  more  you 
will  get  into  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

1 7 14-1795.  — WiLUAM    ROMAINE. 


92        Ct  (Eloub  of  IDitnesses. 
^ 

205 -p  HIS  Book  has  held  spell-bound 
■  the  hearts  of  nations  in  a  way 
in  which  no  single  Book  has  ever 
held  men  before.  States  have  been 
founded  on  its  principles.  Men  hold 
the  Bible  in  their  hands  when  they 
prepare  to  give  solemn  evidence  affect- 
ing life. 

— Frederick  W.  Robertson. 
1816-1853. 

206  I  p  all  the  books  were  placed  in  one 
■  library,  and  this  single  One  set  on 
a  table  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  a 
stranger  were  told  that  this  Book,  af- 
firmed to  be  for  the  most  part  the  work 
of  a  number  of  unlearned  and  ob- 
scure men,  belonging  to  a  despised 
nation  called  the  Jews,  had  drawn 
upon  itself  for  its  exposure,  con- 
futation, and  destruction,  this  multi- 
tude of  volumes, — I  imagine  he  would 
be  inclined  to  say :  "  Then,  I  presume, 
this  little  Book  was  annihilated  long 
ago;  though  how  it  could  be  needful 
to  write  a  thousandth  part  so  much  for 
any  such  purpose  I  can  not  compre- 
hend ;  for  if  the  book  be  what  these 


(X  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.        93 


207 


authors  say,  surely  it  should  not  be 
difficult  to  show  it  to  be  so;  and  if 
so,  what  wonderful  madness  to  write 
all  these  volumes!"  How  surprised 
would  he  then  be  to  learn  that  they 
were  felt  not  to  be  enough  ;  that  sim- 
ilar works  were  being  multiplied  every 
day,  and  never  more  actively  than  at 
the  present  time. 

— Henry  Rogers, 
"Superhuman  Origin  of  the  Bible,'^  p.  254. 

The  Book  which  has  given  them 
all  their  ephemeral  renown, 
seems  alone  untouched  by  time.  It 
is  like  some  old  oak  which  has  seen 
the  harvest  of  a  thousand  years' 
springs  ripen  and  fall  beneath  the 
sickle.  — Ibid.,  p.  279. 


208  TilK  Bible  is  not  such  a  Book  as 

man  would  have  made  if  he 
could,  or  could  have  made  if  he  would 
have  done  so.  — Ibid.,  p.  5. 

209  'T'o  my  early  knowledge  of  the   Bi- 

ble I  owe  the  best  part  of  my 
taste  in  literature  and  the  most  pre- 


94        ^  Cloub  of  IPitnesses, 


cious  and,  on  the  whole,  the  one   es- 
sential part  of  my  education, 

1819 — ^JOHN    RUSKIN. 

210  I  HAVE  been  blamed  for  the  famil- 
■  iar  application  of  its  sacred  words. 
I  am  grieved  to  have  given  pain  by 
so  doing ;  but  my  excuse  must  be  my 
wish  that  those  words  were  made  the 
ground  of  every  argument  and  the  test 
of  every  action.  We  have  them  not 
often  enough  upon  our  lips,  nor 
deeply  enough  in  our  memories,  nor 
loyally  enough  in  our  lives.  The 
snow,  the  vapor,  and  the  stormy  wind 
fulfill  His  word.  Are  our  acts  and 
thoughts  lighter  and  wilder  than 
these,  that  we  should  forget  it? 

—Ibid. 

2"<'/lFTKR  our  chapters  (from  two  to 
**  three  a  day,  according  to  their 
length),  the  first  thing  after  breakfast 
(and  no  interruptions  from  servants 
allowed,  none  from  visitors,  who 
either  joined  in  the  reading  or  had  to 
stay  up-stairs,  and  none  from  any  vis- 
iting or  excursions,  except  real  trav- 


<X  <Z\oub  of  IDitnesses.        95 


eling),  I  had  to  learn  a  few  verses  by 
heart,  or  repeat,  to  make  sure  I  had 
not  lost  something  of  what  was 
already  known;  and,  with  the  chap- 
ters thus  gradually  possessed  from 
the  first  to  the  last,  I  had  to  learn 
the  whole  body  of  the  fine  old  Scotch 
paraphrases,  which  are  good,  melodi- 
ous, and  forceful  verses,  and  to  which, 
together  with  the  Bible  itself,  I  owe 
the  first  cultivation  of  my  ear  in 
sound."  Mr.  Ruskin  prints  his  mother's 
list  of  the  chapters,  **  with  which, 
thus  learned,  she  established  my  soul 
in  life."  It  is  as  follows :  Exodus, 
chapters  xv,  xvi ;  2  Samuel  i,  from  the 
seventeenth  verse  to  the  end ;  i  Kings 
viii;  Psalms  xxii,  xxxiii,  xc,  xci,  ciii, 
cxii,  cxix,  cxxxix;  Proverbs  chapters 
ii,  iii,  viii,  xii ;  Isaiah  Iviii;  Matthew, 
chapters  v,  vi,  vii;  Acts  xxvi;  i  Co- 
rinthians, chapters  xiii,  xv ;  James  iv ; 
Revelation,  chapters  v,  vi.  And 
truly  Mr.  Ruskin  says :  "  Though  I 
have  picked  up  the  elements  of  a  lit- 
tle further  knowledge — in  mathemat- 
ics, meteorology,  and  the  like,  in  after 
life — and  owe  not  a  little  to  the  teach- 


96        a  Cloub  of  IDttncsses, 


ing  of  many  people,  this  material 
installation  of  my  mind  in  that  prop- 
erty of  chapters  I  count  very  confi- 
dently the  most  precious,  and,  on  the 
whole,  the  one  essential  part  of  my  ed- 
ucation." John  Ruskin, 

In  "Autobiography." 

212  Walter  SCOTT  and  Alexander 

Pope  were  the  reading  of  my 
own  early  election;  but  my  mother 
forced  me  to  read  the  Bible  from  Gen- 
esis to  Apocalypse,  and  to  that  disci- 
pline, patient,  accurate,  resolute,  I  owe 
not  only  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible, 
but  the  best  part  of  my  taste  in  lit- 
erature. .  .  .  Knowing  by  heart 
the  hundred  and  nineteneth  Psalm,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  other  places 
of  Holy  Scripture,  it  was  not  possible 
for  me  to  write  entirely  superficial 
English.  — /did.,  in  "  Fors  Clavigerae." 

213  I  SEE  in  your  columns,  as  in  other 

journals,  more  and  more  buzzing 
and  fussing  about  what  M.  Renan 
has  found  the  Bible  to  be,  or  Mr. 
Huxley  not  to  be,  or  the  bishops  that 


CI  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.        97 


it  might  be,  or  the  school  board  that 
it  must  n't  be,  etc.     I^et  me  tell  your 
readers   who    care    to   know,   in   the 
fewest  possible  words   what  it  zs.     It 
is  the  grandest  group  of  writings  ex- 
istent in  the  rational  world,  put  into 
the    grandest     language    of  the    ra- 
tional world,  in  the  first  strength  of 
the  Christian    faith,    by    an    entirely 
wise  and  kind  saint,  St.  Jerome ;  trans- 
lated afterward  with  beauty  and  felic- 
ity into  every  language  of  the  Christian 
world;  and  the  guide,  since  so  trans- 
lated, of  all  the  arts  and  acts  of  that 
world  which  have  been   noble,  fortu- 
nate, and  happy.     And  by  consulta- 
tion of  it  honestly,    on    any   serious 
business,  you  may  always  learn— a  long 
while   before  your    Parliament   finds 
out — what   you   should    do    in    such 
business,  and  be  directed  perhaps  be- 
sides to  work  more  serious  than  you 
had  thought  of. 

— J^t'd.,  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


9S        d  (Eloub  of  VOximsszs, 

■ •♦ 

214  p  ATHKR  of  Mercies,  in  thy  Word 

What  endless  glory  shines  ! 
Forever  be  thy  name  adored 
For  these  celestial  lines. 
1 717-1778.  — Anne  Steele. 

215  I    KNOW  that  what  I  read  and  pos- 

sess in  the  Word  will  remain  when 
the  world  passes  away,  and  that  its 
slightest  sentence  will  prove  a  better 
dying  pillow  than  all  else  that  man 
could  conceive  or  possess. 

1 800-1 862.  — Rudolf  Stier. 

216  QnE    Book    alone     has    outlasted 

many  generations,  in  all  nations 
equally,  and  that  is  the  Bible;  and 
this  is  because  of  its  exceeding 
breadth — because  it  embraces  every 
variety  and  element  of  thought,  and 
every  phase  of  society;  above  all,  be- 
cause it  embodies  in  every  part  the 
moral  commandment  of  God,  which 
endures  forever  in  heaven,  and  which 
applies  not  to  one  condition  of  life 
only,  but  to  all. 

— Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley, 
1815-1881.        Dean  of  Westminster. 


Cr  (Eloub  of  XDltnesses.        99 

^^7  OUT  we  ought  not  to  tremble  too 
'^  much  for  the  ark  of  God;  it  is 
God's  ark,  and  he  will  take  charge  of 
it.  This  is  only  an  episode  in  the 
history  of  the  Bible ;  the  providence 
of  God  is  watching  over  it;  and  we 
may  be  very  sure  that  when  it  is  over, 
the  Bible,  being  better  understood, 
will  be  seen  more  clearly  than  ever 
to  be  suited  to  the  deepest  wants  of 
man,  and  fitted  to  be  the  torch  which 
guides  him  along  the  pathway  of 
progress.  — James  Stai.ker, 

75th   Anniversary  Amer.  Bible  Society, 


218^1^  HE  whole  hope  of  human  prog- 
■      ress  is    suspended    on  the  ever- 
growing influence  of  the  Bible. 
1801-1872.    — WiLiyiAM  H.  Seward. 


2191a  OBODY  ever  outgrows  Scripture. 
■  The  Book  widens  and  deepens 
with  our  years. 

— Charles  H.  Spurgeon. 
1834-1892. 


loo      a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses, 


220  p  vKN  the  style  of  the  Scriptures  is 
■■    more  than  human. 

1671-1729.  — Richard  SteeIvE;. 

22i^r  jj;g^  popular  reverence  for  the  Bi- 
ble is  also  strong,  and  it  extends 
to  every  copy  of  the  printed  Book, 
and  includes  even  those  who  reject 
the  supernatural  authority  of  Scrip- 
ture. At  least  so  far  as  the  exhibition 
of  outward  and  formal  respect  is  con- 
cerned, they  are  all  of  one  mind. 
The  various  Bible  societies  are  care- 
ful to  put  copies  of  the  Scriptures 
in  the  reading-rooms  and  bedrooms 
of  hotels  and  upon  all  ships  and 
steamers.  It  can  not  be_  said  that 
those  volumes  give  evidences  of  hav- 
ing been  extensively  read,  but  they 
are  never  defaced.  The  most  flippant 
treat  the  Holy  Bible  with  instinctive 
and  distinctive  respect. 

— New  York  Sun. 

222  flNIvIKK  other  books,  the  Bible  has 

neither  preface  nor  introduction. 

Nor    has    it    definitions,   postulates, 

axioms,   or   elementary  theorems  on 

which    to   build    its   science  of  the- 


CI  (Eloub  of  IDitnesses,      loi 


ology  or  to  prepare  its  students  for  its 
higher  revelations  or  developments. 
Its  first  words  bring  us  face  to  face 
with  eternity  and  divinity. 

Matthew  Simpson, 
I^ecture  :  Majesty  and  Holiness  of  Bible. 

God's  Word,  Man's  Light  and  Guide, 

Lectures  before  N.  Y.  S.  S.  Association, 

American  Tract  Society. 

1811-1884. 


223  I  HAVE  surveyed  most  of  the  learn- 

ing that  is  among  the  children  of 
men,  yet  at  this  moment  I  recall  noth- 
ing in  them  on  which  to  rest  my  soul 
save  one  from  the  sacred  Scriptures 
which  rises  much  on  my  mind :  "  The 
grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salva- 
tion hath  appeared  unto  all  men." 
— John  Sei^den, 

1 584-1658.        To  Archbishop  Usher. 

224  IflKWED  merely  as  a  literary  pro- 

*  duction,  the  Bible  is  a  marvelous 
Book,  and  without  a  rival.  All  the 
libraries  of  theology,  philosophy,  his- 
tory,   antiquities,    poetry,   law,    and 


I02      (X  Cloub  of  n)ttnesses» 

.4, 

policy  would  not  furnish  material 
enough  for  so  rich  a  treasure  of  the 
choicest  gems  of  human  genius,  wis- 
dom, and  experience. 

1819-1893.  — Phiup  Schaff. 


225  TTHB  translators  of  the  Bible  were 
■  makers  of  our  English  style  much 
fitter  for  that  work  than  any  we  see 
in  our  present  writings.  The  which 
is  owing  to  the  simplicity  that  runs 
through  the  whole. 

— Jonathan  Swift, 
Dean  of  St.  Patrick's,  Dublin. 
1667-1745. 


226 


I  KT  us  cling  with  a  holy  zeal  to  the 
Bible,  and  the  Bible  only,  as  the 
religion  of  Protestants.  I^et  us  pro- 
claim, with  Milton,  that  neither  tradi- 
tions, nor  councils,  nor  canons  of  visi- 
ble Church,  much  less  edicts  of  any 
civil  magistrate  or  civil  session,  but  the 
Scriptures  only,  can  be  the  final  judge 
or  rule.  — ^Joseph  Story, 

Justice  Supreme  Court,  U.  S. 
1779-1845. 


(X  €lonb  of  IDttnesscs.       103 


227  I N  the  whole  compass  of  poetry 
■  there  is  nothing  more  poetical, 
more  musical,  more  thrilling,  and,  in 
some  passages,  more  full  of  lofty  in- 
spiration than  the  Psalms  of  David. 
— He:nry  Stephanus. 


228  U  E)  who  has  once  gained  this 
*  ■  broader  view  of  the  Bible  as  the 
development  of  a  course  of  history 
itself,  guided  and  inspired  by  Jeho- 
vah, will  not  be  disconcerted  by  the 
confused  noises  of  the  critic.  His 
faith  in  the  Word  of  God  lies  deeper 
than  any  difficulties  or  flaws  upon 
the  surface  of  the  Bible.  He  will  not 
be  disturbed  by  seeing  any  theory  of 
its  mechanical  formation  or  school- 
book  infallibility  broken  to  fragments 
under  the  repeated  blows  of  modern 
investigation.  The  water  of  life  will 
flow  from  the  rock  which  the  scholar 
strikes  with  his  rod. 

— Newman  Smyth, 
"  Old  Faiths  in  New  lyights,"  p.  59. 
1843- 


I04      d  (£lou6  of  XDttnesses. 


229  "yHE  Bible  has  been  the  potent  in- 

■  terpreter  of  the  spiritual  instincts 
of  a  considerable  portion  of  our  race, 
giving  form  and  voice  and  force  to 
their  thoughts  of  God,  of  duty,  of 
judgment  and  the  life  to  come 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  Christian  world. 

— ^Vancb  Smith, 
"  The  Bible  and  its  Theology,"  p.  300. 

230  l¥f  HEN  you  can  prove  to  me  that 

■■  man  has  built  the  mountains  of 
brick-work  and  has  covered  the  earth 
with  a  mud  which  he  has  manufac- 
tured for  soil,  then  you  may  prove  to 
me  that  the  Bible,  with  its  oneness 
and  variety,  its  production  extending 
over  fifteen  hundred  years,  with  its 
last  verse  answering  to  its  first  across 
the  dreary  drift  of  ages,  has  come  to 
us  from  man. 

182 1 —  — Richard  S.  Storrs. 

^31  ^  INMOST  every  feeling  finds  a  voice 
"  in  the  Psalms.  But  here  are  not 
their  only  expressions.  The  prophe- 
cies contain  them.  They  break  upon 
us  through  scores  of  narratives  and 


a  (Eloub  of  IDttncsses.      105 


in  hundreds  of  incidents.  And  there 
is  not  a  note  of  human  emotion, 
from  the  plaint  of  despondency  or 
the  wail  of  despair  up  to  the  noblest 
Christian  war-hymn — yea,  up  to  the 
very  Te  Deum  of  saints  celebrating 
the  final  attainment  of  heaven — that 
is  not  somewhere  sounded  in  the 
Bible.  —Ibid. 

Sermon:   Jubilee  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, 1866. 

232  npHE  most  learned,  acute,  and  dili- 
*  gent  student  can  not  in  the  long- 
est life  obtain  an  entire  knowledge  of 
this  one  volume.  The  more  deeply 
he  works  the  mine,  the  richer  and  more 
abundant  he  finds  the  ore ;  new  light 
continually  beams  from  this  source  of 
heavenly  knowledge,  to  direct  the 
conduct  and  illustrate  the  works  of 
God  and  the  ways  of  men;  and  he 
will  at  last  leave  the  world  confessing 
that  the  more  he  studied  the  Scrip- 
tures the  fuller  conviction  he  had  of 
his  own  ignorance  and  of  their  inesti- 
mable value.  —  Wai^ter  Scott. 
1771-1832. 


io6      G.  Cloub  of  IDttncsses, 

•«. 

233  l¥f  ITHIN  this  awful  volume  lies 
■^    The  mystery  of  mysteries ; 
Happiest  they  of  human  race 
To  whom  their  God  has  given  grace 
To  read,  to  fear,  to  hope,  to  pray, 
To  lift  the  latch,  to  force  the  way  ; 
But  better  had  they  ne'er  been  born, 
That  read  to  doubt,  or  read  to  scorn. 

—/did. 
"The  Monastery." 


234  MANY  a  fathom  dark  and  deep 
■  ■  I  have  laid  the  Book  to  sleep ; 
Ethereal  fires  around  it  glowing- 
Ethereal  music  ever  flowing — 
The  sacred  pledge  of  Heaven. 
All  things  revere, 
Each  in  his  sphere. 
Save  man  for  whom  'twas  given; 
Lend  thy  hand  and  thou  shalt  spy 
Things  ne'er  seen  by  mortal  eye. 

—3id. 
"The  Monastery." 


(X  Cloub  of  XPttnesses,      107 

^ 

"THERE  IS  BUT  ONE  BOOK." 

[From  the  last  words  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.] 

235  pKTCH   me  the  Buke,  dear  Lock- 
*  hart, 

An'  gie  me  ane  sweet  ward. 
What  buke  ?  There  is  nae  ither, — 

The  lyife  o'  th'  Incarnate  lyord ; 
I  feel  the  shadows  creepin'  ; 

My  licht  's  nae  burnin'  lang, 
Sae  read  frae  the  blessit  Gospels 

A  bit,  chiel,  ere  I  gang; 
Fin'  whaur  He  holpit  the  needy, 

His  pity  wi'  His  micht ! 
O,  my  soul 's  fair  hungry,  Lockhart, 

For  the  lyivin'  Bread,  the  nicht. 

I  think  o'  the  dear  disciples 

Sae  tassit  on  the  sea, 
An'  the  wards  He  spak'  tae  Simon, — 

I  ken  they  'd  comfort  me ; 
Tell  o'  the  chitterin'  sparrows, — 

"Nae  wan  o'  them  can'  fa' ;" 
Tell  hoo  He  callit  the  bairnies, — 

The  dearest  thocht  o'  a'. 
Read  owre  hoo  the  ravin'  tempest 

Seekit  silence  i'  the  deep; 
Sae  the  surges  i'  my  bosom 

Are  croonin'  a'  tae  sleep; 


io8      CX  Cloub  of  IDitnesses* 


Ye  maun  catch  the  roll  o'  Jordan 

I'  His  wards  tae  the  Pharisee, 
But  ye  '11  hear  Him  prayin'  dearie, 

I'  the  sough  o'  Galilee; 
Dinnah  fash  'bout  Judas  kisses; 

Nae  greet  i'  the  garden  dim, 
But  joy  hoo  the  dyin*  beggar 

Foun'  paradise  wi  Him ; 
Nae  hent  o'  Thamas  dootin', 

Nae  ward  hoo  Peter  fell ; 
It  grie's  me,  sair, — their  weakness 

Wha  ken't  oor  lyord  sae  weel; 

Read  o'  the  walk  tae  Emmaus 

That  long  an'  tearfu'  day, 
An  lat  oor  hearts  burn,  I^ockhart, 

As  we  gang  the  countrie  way; 
Pluck  me  ane  lily,  lyockhart, 

A'  siller-dew't  an'  sweet; 
I  speer  the  rose  o'  Sharon, 

An'  smell  the  growin'  wheat; 
Lat's  join  the  throngin',  dearie. 

An'  wait  i'  the  wee  bit  ships 
For  the  ward,  like  beads  o'  honey, 

That  fa'  frae  His  haly  lips. 

Hoo  sad  the  Gospels,  lyockhart, 
Wi'  his  wand'rin'  hameless  life ! 


ex  (£Iou6  of  XPttnesses.      109 
■♦■ 
But  there  's  ane  grief  fetches  comfort, 

Ane  rest  that  comes  o'  strife : 
Noo  tak'  me,  kin',  gude  Lockhart, — 

Aye  tenner-true  tae  me  ! — 
Oot  wi'  the  dear  disciples, 
"As  far 's  tae  Bethany;" 
I  sair  need  rest,  belov'd, 

An'  the  licht  's  a-wearin'  dim  ; 
But  heaven's  nae  far  fra  Bethany, 
An'  sune  I  '11  be  wi'  Him. 

— Agnes  E.  Mitche;i.i,. 

236QOOD  heaven,  were  the  truths  of 
^  the  Book  prevalent  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  should  we  be  disturbed  and 
frightened  as  we  are  day  by  day  by 
those  gigantic  frauds  that  are  burst- 
ing out  in  every  community,  and 
which  lead  us  to  believe  that  all  hon- 
esty in  trade,  all  honesty  in  public 
life,  all  honesty  in  private  life,  have 
left  the  world  forever?  Is  it  unsuited 
to  the  times  in  which  we  live,  when, 
if  its  holy  precepts  and  its  Divine 
commands  had  been  listened  to,  we 
should  not  have  these  gigantic  evils? 
— The;  7TH  Earl  of  Shaftesbury, 
1801 —  Life  of    Vol.  I,  p.  7. 


no      a  Cloub  of  IDitnesses. 


237  ^  H !  but  now  they  come  and  tell 
m%  us  that  the  Bible  is  effete ;  that  it 
is  worn  out ;  that  it  can  do  nothing,  and 
that  we  must  now  have  some  new  in- 
fluence, some  new  principle,  by  which 
to  regulate  and  guide  man.  Effete! 
Indeed,  I  should  like  to  know  whether 
it  is  effete  at  this  moment  in  India. 
Is  it  effete  in  the  effect,  lately  begun, 
to  be  produced  in  China  ?  Is  it  effete 
in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  ? 
Is  it  effete  in  Madagascar?  Is  it 
effete  in  Italy?  You  see  what  a 
country  Italy  has  now  become;  you 
see  how  the  Italians  are  now  grasping 
at  the  Word  of  God,  and  although 
they  have  not  thrown  off  the  tram- 
mels of  the  Church  of  Rome,  they 
have  imbibed  the  first  principles, 
whereby  their  conduct  in  public  and 
private  life  should  be  guided.  The 
Bible  lies  at  the  root  of  their  freedom, 
and  they  know  it  well  enough  to 
make  it  the  basis  of  their  hopes  and 
fears.  That  is  the  Book  that  will 
guide  them.  — /did.,  Vol.  I,  p.  7. 


(X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.      m 

-^ 

238  ^  O  the  Neologists  themselves  think 
■^  it  effete?  If  so,  why  do  they 
pass  their  nights,  why  do  they 
sweat  and  toil  over  the  midnight 
lamp,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  destroy- 
ing a  Book  that  is  so  effete  that,  if 
left  to  itself,  would  soon  die  or  be- 
conie  an  object  of  general  contempt? 
They  do  not  think  it  effete.  They 
know  its  power  upon  the  heart  and 
the  conscience.  They  know  that,  if 
left  to  itself,  that  good  old  Book  must 
work  its  own  way,  and  what  they 
deny  with  their  lips  they  confess  with 
their  fears.  Effete?  It  is  effete  as 
Abraham  was  effete,  when  he  became 
the  father  of  many  nations,  when  they 
sprang  of  one,  and  him  as  good  as 
dead,  as  many  as  the  stars  for  multi- 
tude and  the  sands  upon  the  seashore 
innumerable.  It  is  effete  as  eternity 
past,  present,  and  future  is  effete.  It 
is  effete,  and  in  no  other  sense,  as  God 
himself  is  effete— the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever. 

^/dzd.,  Vol.  I,  p.  8. 


112      a  (£Iou6  of  IDitnesscs. 
.^ 

239  C  AVE  for  my  daily  range 

^^   Among  the  pleasant  fields  of  Holy 

Writ, 
I  might  despair. 

— Alfred,  IvOrd  Tennyson. 
1809-1892. 


240 WITH  the  history  of  Moses,  no 
"  book  in  the  world,  in  point  of 
antiquity,  can  contend. 

1 630- 1 694.        — John  Tillotson, 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


241  MOIyY  Scripture  becomes  resplend- 
*  *  ent,  or,  as  one  might  say,  incan- 
descent throughout. 

1787-1865.  — Isaac  Taylor. 


242  ^  HK  integrity  of  the  records  of  the 
■  Christian  faith  is  substantiated  by 
evidence  in  a  tenfold  proportion  more 
various,  copious,  and  conclusive  than 
that  which  can  be  adduced  in  sup- 
port of  any  other  ancient  writings. 

--Ibid. 


Ci  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.      113 
4. 

^43  /l  S    the  profoundest  philosophy  of 

ancient  Rome  and  Greece  lighted 

her   taper   at   Israel's    altar,   so    the 

sweetest  strains  of    the  pagan   muse 

were   swept  from   harps   attuned   on 

Zion's  Hill. 

— Edward  Thomson. 
1810-1870. 

244  TT  HE  Bible  is  a  thing  of  light,  and 

illumines    whatsoever    it    shines 

upon ;  a  thing  of  beauty,  and  adorns 

whatsoever     it    touches;    a   thing  of 

life,  and  quickens  whatsoever  it  comes 

in  contact   with. 

— W.  Traii., 
"  Literary  Characteristics  and  Achieve- 
ments of  the  Bible." 

245TrHE  man  of  one  book  is   always 
*     formidable;  but  when  that  Book 
is  the  Bible,  he  is  irresistible. 
1 829- 1 896.    — William  M.  Taylor. 

246^  HE   Book   is    literature,   and   not 
■     mere    theology.      Its  moral   pre- 
cepts      and      ever-to-be-remembered 
stories    of   fidelity   and    self-sacrifice 
8 


114      CI  (£lou6  of  IDttncsses. 
.♦• 

never   lose    their   wonted   charm    or 
grandeur. 
— Boston  Evening  Transcript,  Satur- 
day, April  II,  1896. 


247  T'HK  present-day  critical  investiga- 
tion of  the  Bible  may  in  some  re- 
spects modify  or  change  the  popu- 
lar conception  of  it.  Indeed,  it  has 
done  so  in  a  measure  already ;  but  in 
so  far  as  we  can  see,  it  has  in  no  de- 
gree weakened  the  hold  of  the  Bible 
on  the  conscience  of  Christendom. 
Nor  is  there  the  faintest  sign  that 
modern  civilization  intends  to  part 
with  any  of  the  essential  principles 
and  ideals  which  it  has  learned  from 
that  venerable  Book.  Possibly  Moses 
may  have  made  mistakes;  he  was 
great  enough  to  do  so.  But  no  mis- 
take he  ever  made  compares  with 
that  of  those  who  think  to  elevate 
and  ennoble  the  world  by  splitting 
''the  ears  of  the  groundlings"  with 
coarse  sneers  at  religion  and  the 
Bible.  — ^The  New  York  Tribune. 


CI  Cloub  of  IPitnesses.      115 
4, 

248 1 MMKNSKLY  as  the   literature  of 

■  this  country  has  increased  in  this 
century,  the  Bible  now  occupies  a 
larger  proportionate  space  in  that  liter- 
ature than  ever  it  did.  No  Book  raises 
so  many  inquiries  or  touches  so  many 
interests.  The  Bible  sends  the  stu- 
dent to  libraries  and  archives.  To 
the  Bible  we  owe  much  of  the  in- 
tense and  spreading  interest  in  lan- 
guages and  in  the  originals  of  cus- 
toms and  of  peoples.  It  directs  the 
traveler  to  buried  cities,  to  the  tombs 
of  kings,  to  the  records  of  States 
once  great,  and  well-nigh  forgotten. 
Wherever  the  battle  of  opinion  is 
now  the  liveliest,  wherever  the  race 
for  discovery  is  most  eager,  wherever 
the  earth  at  last  reveals  her  buried 
history,  it  is  to  add  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  sacred  story,  and  to  our  under- 
standing of  the  sacred  volume. 

— ^The  I^ondon  Times. 

249  «^HK  man  who  recreated  the  Ger- 

■  man  language — I  hardly  think 
the  expression  too  strong — was  Mar- 
tin Luther.     It  was  his  fortune  and 


ii6      Ct  Cloub  of  XPttnesses. 


that  of  the  world  that  he  was  so 
equally  great  in  man}'  directions— 
as  a  personal  character,  as  a 
man  of  action,  as  a  teacher  and 
preacher,  and  finally  as  an  author. 
No  one  before  him,  and  no  one  for 
nearly  two  hundred  years  after  him, 
saw  that  the  German  tongue  must  be 
sought  for  in  the  mouths  of  the  peo- 
ple— that  the  exhausted  expression  of 
the  earlier  ages  could  not  be  revived, 
but  that  the  newer,  fuller,  and  richer 
speech,  then  in  its  childhood,  must  at 
once  be  acknowledged  and  adopted. 
He  made  it  the  vehicle  of  what  was 
divinest  in  human  language ;  and  those 
who  are  not  informed  of  his  manner 
of  translating  the  Bible,  can  not  ap- 
preciate the  originality  of  his  work, 
or  the  marvelous  truth  of  the  in- 
stinct which  led  him  to  it. 

With  all  his  scholarship,  Luther 
dropped  the  theological  style,  and 
sought  among  the  people  for  phrases 
as  artless  and  simple  as  those  of  the 
Hebrew  writers.  He  frequented  the 
market-place,  the  merrj^-making,  the 
house    of    birth,   marriage,  or  death 


(X  (Llonb  of  tPttnesses.      117 


among  the  common  people,  in  order 
to  catch  the  fullest  expression  of  their 
feelings  in  the  simplest  words.  He 
enlisted  his  friends  in  the  same  serv- 
ice, begging  them  to  note  down  foi 
him  any  peculiar,  sententious  phrase ; 
"for,"  said  he,  "I  can  not  use  the 
words  heard  in  castles  and  at  courts." 
Not  a  sentence  of  the  Bible  was  trans- 
lated until  he  had  sought  for  the 
briefest,  clearest,  and  strongest  Ger- 
man equivalent  to  it.  He  writes, 
in  1530:  '*  I  have  exerted  myself,  in 
translating,  to  give  pure  and  clear 
German.  And  it  has  verily  hap- 
pened that  we  have  sought  and 
questioned  a  fortnight,  three,  four 
weeks,  for  a  single  word,  and  yet  it 
was  not  always  found.  In  Job  we  so 
labored — Philip  Melanchthon,  Auro- 
gallus,  and  I — that  in  four  days  we 
sometimes  barely  finished  three  lines. 
.  .  .  It  is  well  enough  to  plow 
when  the  field  is  cleared ;  but  to  root 
out  stock  and  stone,  and  prepare  the 
ground,  is  what  no  one  will." 

He  illustrates  his  own  plan  of  trans- 
lation by  an  example  which  is  so  inter- 


ii8      (X  (Lloub  of  IPitnesscs* 

•♦• 

esting  that  I  must  quote  it:  "We 
must  not  ask  the  men  of  letters  in 
the  lyatin  language  how  we  should 
speak  German,  as  the  asses  do ;  but 
we  must  ask  the  mother  in  the  house, 
the  children  in  the  lanes,  the  common 
man  in  the  market-place,  and  read  in 
their  mouths  how  they  speak,  and 
translate  according  thereto ;  then  they 
understand,  for  they  see  we  are  speak- 
ing German  to  them.  As  when  Christ 
says :  Bx  abundantia  cordis  os  loquitur. 
Now  if  I  were  to  follow  the  asses, 
they  would  dissect  for  me  the  letters 
and  thus  translate :  '  Out  of  the  super- 
abundance of  the  heart  speaks  the 
mouth.'  Now  tell  me  is  that  spoken 
German?  No  German  would  say 
that,  unless  he  meant  that  he  had  too 
much  of  a  heart,  although  even  that 
is  not  correct ;  for  superabundance  of 
heart  is  not  German,  any  more  than 
superabudance  of  house,  superabun- 
dance of  cooking-stove,  superabun- 
dance of  bench ;  but  thus  speaketh 
the  mother  in  the  house  and  the  com- 
mon man :  *  Whose  heart  is  full,  his 
mouth  overflows.'     That  is  Germanly 


a  Cloub  of  tPttncsses,      119 


spoken,  such  as  I  have  endeavored 
to  do,  but  alas !  not  always  suc- 
ceeded." 

IvUther  translated  the  Bible  eighty 
years  before  our  English  version  was 
produced.  I  do  not  know  whether 
the  English  translators  made  any  use 
of  his  labors,  although  they  inclined 
toward  the  same  plan,  without  follow- 
ing it  so  conscientiously.  In  regard 
to  the  accuracy  of  rendering,  there 
is  less  difference.  But  in  regard 
to  the  fullness,  the  strength,  the  ten- 
derness, the  vital  power  of  language, 
I  think  lyUther's  Bible  decidedly 
superior  to  our  own.  The  instinct 
of  one  great  man  is  in  such  mat- 
ters, if  not  a  safer,  at  least  a  more  sat- 
isfactory guide  than  the  average  judg- 
ment of  forty-seven  men.  Luther 
was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  theologian,  and 
as  a  poet  he  was  able  to  feel,  as  no 
theologian  could,  the  intrinsic  differ- 
ence of  spirit  and  character  in  the 
different  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment— not  only  to  feel,  but,  through 
the  sympathetic  quality  of  the  poetic 
nature,   to   reproduce  them.      These 


I20      CX  Cloub  of  XPttnesses. 
■♦■ 

ten  years,  from  1522  to  1532,  which 
he  devoted  to  the  work,  were  not  only 
years  of  unremitting,  prayerful,  con- 
scientious labor,  but  also  of  warm, 
bright,  joyous,  intellectual  creation. 
We  can  only  appreciate  his  wonder- 
ful achievement  by  comparing  it  with 
any  German  prose  before  his  time. 
1825-1878.  — Bayard  Taylor, 
Studies  in  German  Literature. 


250 /|ftER  all,  the  Bible  must  be  its 
^^  own  argument  and  defense.  The 
power  of  it  can  never  be  proved  un- 
less it  is  felt.  The  authority  of  it 
can  never  be  supported  unless  it  is 
manifest.  The  light  of  it  can  never 
be  demonstrated  unless  it  shines. 

— H.  J.  Van  Dyke. 

251  pROM  the  time  that,  at  my  mother's 
feet  or  on  my  father's  knee,  I  first 
learned  to  lisp  verses  from  the  Sa- 
cred Writings,  they  have  been  my 
daily  study  and  vigilant  contempla- 
tion. — Danieiv  Webster. 
1782-1852. 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.      121 
■♦• 

252  I  HAVE   read   the    Bible    through 

many  times;  I  now  make  a  prac- 
tice of  going  through  it  once  a  year. 
It  is  the  Book  of  all  others  for  law- 
yers as  well  as  divines;  and  I  pity 
the  man  who  can  not  find  in  it  a  rich 
supply  of  thought  and  rules  for  con- 
duct, —/did. 

253  f\^  style  in  language  and  thought 
■  ■  is  due  to  my  early  love  of  the 
Scriptures.  — Idz'd. 

254  ^'HE    biography    of    the     seventh 

■  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  contains  a 
letter  addressed  to  him  by  Daniel 
Webster,  dated  Washington,  May  7, 
1840,  which  begins  as  follows: 

"Dear  Lord  Ashi^ky, — I  owe  you 
many  thanks  for  a  kind  note  which  I 
received  at  the  moment  of  my  de- 
parture from  London  last  autumn,  and 
for  the  present  of  a  copy  of  a  very 
excellent  edition  of  the  Holy  Bible. 
You  could  have  given  me  nothing 
more  acceptable,  and  I  shall  keep  it 
near  me,  as  a  valued  token   of  your 


122      Ct  Cloub  of  tPttnesses. 

4- 

regard.  The  older  I  grow,  and  the 
more  I  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
more  reverence  I  have  for  them,  and 
the  more  convinced  I  am  that  they  are 
not  only  the  best  guide  for  the  con- 
duct of  this  life,  but  the  foundation 
of  all  hope  respecting  a  future  state 
of  existence."  — Ibid. 

255  I  BELIEVE  that  the  Bible  is  to  be 

■  understood  and  received  in  the 
plain  and  obvious  meaning  of  its 
passages;  for  I  can  not  persuade  my- 
self that  a  Book  intended  for  the  in- 
struction and  conversion  of  the  whole 
world  should  cover  it-s  true  meaning 
in  any  such  mystery  and  doubt  that 
none  but  critics  and  philosophers  can 
discover  it.  — Ibid. 

256  |F  we  abide  by  the  principles  taught 

■  in  the  Bible,  our  countrj^  will  go  on 
prospering  and  to  prosper;  but  if  we 
and  our  posterity  neglect  its  instruc- 
tions and  authority ,  no  man  can  tell 
how  sudden  a  catastrophe  may  over- 
whelm us,  and  bury  all  our  glory  in 
profound  obscurity.  — Ibid. 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.      123 

4. 

257  »HII,OSOPHICAL  argument,  espe- 
'  cially  that  drawn  from  the  vastness 
of  the  universe  in  comparison  with 
the  comparative  insignificance  of  this 
globe,  has  sometimes  shaken  my  rea- 
son for  the  faith  that  is  in  me ;  but 
my  heart  has  always  assured  and  re- 
assured me  that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  must  be  a  Divine  reality. 

—/did. 


258  T'HE  misfortunes  of  China  seem 
■  likely  to  bring  her  to  a  more 
teachable  mood.  One  of  the  symp- 
toms of  a  new  feeling  is  the  accept- 
ance by  the  dowager  empress,  on  the 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  her  birthday, 
of  a  Bible  in  the  Chinese  language, 
for  which  she  expressed  her  grateful 
thanks,  at  the  same  time  promising 
to  read  it.  What  is  more  significant 
is,  that  the  emperor  last  week  sent 
one  of  the  chief  officers  of  his  house- 
hold to  the  Bible  Society's  depot,  to 
purchase  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures 
similar  to  the  one  presented  to  the 
empress.  — Christian  World. 


124      ^  €Iou5  of  IDtlnesses. 

4^ 

259  The  Bible  is  a  rock  of  diamonds, 
a  chain  of  pearls,  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  a  chart  by  which  the  Chris- 
tian sails  to  eternity,  the  map  by 
which  he  daily  walks,  the  sun-dial  by 
which  he  sets  his  life,  the  balance  in 
which  he  weighs  his  actions. 
—1690.  — T.  Watson. 


260  Y"  HAT  the  truths  of  the  Bible 
have  the  power  of  awakening  an 
intense  moral  feeling  in  every  human 
being ;  that  they  make  bad  men  good, 
and  send  a  pulse  of  healthful  feeling 
through  all  the  domestic,  civil,  and 
social  relations ;  that  they  teach  men 
to  love  right  and  hate  wrong,  and  seek 
each  other's  welfare,  as  children  of  a 
common  parent ;  that  they  control 
the  baleful  passions  of  the  heart,  and 
thus  make  men  proficient  in  self- 
government  ;  and,  finally,  that  they 
teach  man  to  aspire  after  conform- 
ity to  a  Being  of  infinite  holiness, 
and  fill  him  with  hopes  more 
purifying,  exalted,  and  suited  to 
his  nature,  than  any  other  book  the 


G,  (Eloub  of  XDitnesses.      125 


world  has  ever  known, — these  are 
facts  as  incontrovertible  as  the  laws 
of  philosophy  or  the  demonstrations 
of  mathematics. 

1796- 1865.       — Francis  Wayland. 

261  IjiK  search  the  world  for  truth,  we 
W       cull 

The  good,  the  pure,  the  beautiful, 
From  graven  stone  and  written  scroll, 
From  the  old  flower-fields  of  the  soul, 
And,  weary  seekers  for  the  best. 
We  come  back  laden  from  our  quest, 
To  find  that  all  the  sages  said 
Is  in  the  Book  our  mothers  read. 
— John  GreenIvEAF  Whittier. 
1807-1892.  Miriam. 


262  |T  is  sheer  waste  of  time  to  quarrel 
*  about  modes  of  inspiration.  Let 
the  Book  prove  its  own  inspiration. 
When  we  read  it,  we  feel  itg  power. 
When  we  give  it  to  others,  it  proves 
its  divineness.  The  flowing  tide  is 
with  the  Bible,  and,  as  the  tide  rises, 
the  brawling  streams  by  its  shores 
are  hushed.     Send  on  the  Book,  and 


126      CI  (£Ioub  of  IDitncsses. 


see  what  it  will  do.  It  makes  the 
savage  a  man.  It  strikes  from  the 
captive  his  chains,  and  makes  the 
freeman  more  free.  It  fills  civilized 
communities  with  the  voices  of  love 
in  its  purity,  and  the  pledges  of  friend- 
ship in  its  faithfulness.  The  Word 
that  has  gone  forth  out  of  God's 
mouth  will  prove  the  power  of  God ; 
and  the  more  we  read  that  Word  our- 
selves, we  shall  be  able  to  say  with 
greater  confidence,  "  It  is  my  Bible." 
— ^WiiyLiAM  Wright. 

263  I N  Job  and  the  Psalms  we  shall  find 
■    more  sublime  ideas,  more  elevated 
language,  than  in  any  of  the  heathen 
versifiers  of  Greece  or  Rome. 
1674-1748.  Isaac  Watts. 


264|^OMPARE  the  Book  of  Psalms 
^  with  the  Odes  of  Horace  or  An- 
acreon,  with  the  Hymns  of  Callim- 
achus,  the  Golden  Verses  of  Pythag- 
oras, the  Choruses  of  the  Greek 
tragedians,  and  you  will  quickly  see 
how  greatly  it  surpasses  them  all  in 


CI  (Eloub  of  XPitnesses.      127 


piety  of  sentiment,  in  sublimity  of  ex- 
pression, in  purity  of  morality,  and 
in  rational  theology. 

1737-1816.      — Richard  V/atson, 

Bishop  of  Llandaff. 
"An  Apology  for  the  Bible.     Reply  to 
Paine's  'Age  of  Reason.'  " 

265  TTHIS,  for  my  part,  I  do  believe,  that 

the  Scripture  is  clear  and  full  of 
light,  as  to  all  matters  of  conscience, 
as  to  all  rules  of  light,  as  to  all  nec- 
essary matters  of  faith,  so  that  any 
well-minded  man  that  takes  up  the 
Bible  and  reads,  may  come  to  under- 
standing and  satisfaction.  And  to 
this  purpose  then  is  the  Divine  Spirit 
to  wait  upon  this  iUvStrument  of  God. 
— Benjamin  Whichcote;. 
1610-1683. 

266  C  TAR  of  eternity !     The  only  star 
^^  By  which  the  bark  of  man  could 

navigate 
The  sea  of  life,  and  gain  the  coast  of 

bliss 
Securely;    only   star  which   rose   on 

Time, 


128      G,  Cloub  of  IDitncsses. 


And,  on  its  dark  and  troubled  billows, 

still, 
As  generation,  difting  swifl}^  by, 
Succeeded  generation,  threw  a  ray 
Of  Heaven's   own    light,   and  to  the 

hills  of  God, 
The  eternal  hills,  pointed  the  sinner's 

eye.    — Ai^exandkr  Wai^lace. 

267  IWIFFUSE  the  knowledge  of  the  Bi- 
■^  ble,  and  the  hungrj^  will  be  fed 
and  the  naked  clothed.  Diffuse  the 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  the 
stranger  will  be  sheltered,  the  pris- 
oner visited,  and  the  sick  ministered 
unto.  Diffuse  the  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  and  temperance  will  rest  upon 
a  surer  basis  than  any  mere  private 
pledge  or  public  statute. 

1809 —        — Robert  C.  Winthrop. 


rIKRE  are  in  Shakespeare's 
works  more  than  five  hundred 
and  fifty  Biblical  quotations,  allusions, 
references,  and  sentiments.  "  Hamlet " 
alone  contains  about  eighty,  "  Rich- 
ard the  Third"  nearly  fifty,  "Henry 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,      129 


the  Fifth"  and  Richard  the  Second" 
about  forty  each.  Shakespeare  quotes 
from  fifty-four  of  the  Bibhcal  books, 
and  not  one  of  his  thirty-seven  plays 
is  without  a  Scriptural  reference. 
Genesis  furnishes  the  poet  thirty-one 
quotations  or  allusions,  the  Psalms 
with  fifty-nine,  Proverbs  with  thirty- 
five,  Isaiah  with  twenty-one,  Matthew 
with  sixty,  lyuke  with  thirty,  and  Ro- 
mans with  twenty. 

Christopher  Wordsworth, 
Shakespeare  and  the  Bible. 
1807— 

269  TT  URN  from  the  oracles  of  man, 
still  dim  even  in  their  clearest  re- 
ponse,  to  the  oracles  of  God,  which 
are  never  dark.  Bury  all  your  books 
when  you  feel  the  night  of  skepticism 
gathering  around  you ;  bury  them  all, 
powerful  though  you  may  have 
deemed  their  spells  to  illuminate  the 
unfathomable ;  open  your  Bible,  and 
all  the  spiritual  world  will  be  bright 
as  day. 

—John  Wilson  (Christopher  North). 
1785-1854. 


I30      (\  Cloub  of  IDttnesses, 

270  T  is  my  earnest  wish,  gentlemen, 
that  the  words  you  have  just  heard 
from  the  pulpit  may  find  place  and 
realization  in  the  hearts  and  thoughts 
of  all.  ...  If  there  is  anything 
that,  amidst  the  drifting  stress  of  the 
world's  life,  can  give  us  a  holdfast,  it 
is  the  one,  the  solitary,  foundation 
which  is  laid  in  Jesus  Christ.  Do  not 
allow  yourselves  to  be  bewildered 
into  missing  this,  gentlemen,  by  the 
flux  of  change  which,  especially  at 
the  present  period,  traverses  the 
world.  Do  not  join  the  multitude  of 
those  who  either  ignore  the  Bible  al- 
together as  the  one  foundation  of  truth, 
or  at  least  give  it  a  spurious  inter- 
pretation of  their  own  devising.  You 
all  know  that  I  am  a  member,  on  full 
and  free  conviction,  of  Jthe  '/  Positive 
Union"  established  by  my  late  dear 
father.  The  basis  and  rock  on  which 
I,  and  we  all,  are  bound  to  fix  our 
foothold,  is  the  unadulterated  faith  as 
taught  us  by  the  Bible.  There  are,  to 
be  sure,  many  who  do  not  all  take 
exactly  the  same  line  of  interpreta- 
tion;   each  uses  his  knowledge  and 


a  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.       131 

conscience  as  well  as  he  can,  and. 
thereby  regulates  his  acts  and  pur- 
poses. .  .  .  May  all  the  Alumni 
of  this  institution  find  this  day  so 
blest  to  them  that  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  his  only-begotten  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  as  the  alone  source  of  true 
salvation,  may  advance  in  them ! 
Bach  indeed  is  free  to  deal  with  this 
according  to  the  voice  of  his  con- 
science; but  all  must  build  on  the 
foundation  of  the  Bible  and  the  Gos- 
pel. lyCt  but  this  be  secured,  and 
all  will  be  enabled  to  develop  a  Di- 
vinely-blest ministerial  work,  each 
according  to  his  special  gift. 

1859 —     — The  Emperor  Wii<IvIAm, 
In  an  Adress   at  the  Jubilee  of  the  Ca- 
thedral   College    for    Candidates    for 
Orders. 


271        KTIRK  and  read  thy  Bible,  to  be 

gay; 
There  truths  abound  of  sovereign  aid 

to  peace; 
Ah!  do  not  prize  them  less,  because 

inspired, 


132      Ci  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 
.4. 

As  thou  and  thine  are  apt  and  proud 

to  do. 
If  not  inspired,  that   fragrant   page 

had  stood, 
Time's  treasure,  and  the  wonder  of 

the  wise ! 
1 68 1 -1765.  — Edward  Young. 


TKlBaTES. 
Part  1 1 


HE  Bible  is  like  nature^  omnivor- 
ous, yet  healthful.  It  has  a  Di- 
vine vitality y  which  enables  it  to  absorb 
and  assimilate  elements  most  diverse 
and  contradictory.  Nature  is  ever 
clean,  healthful,  and  serene.  Though 
teeming  cities  may  shed  their  filth  upon 
her  bosom^  though  the  malaria  may 
reeky  and  the  earthquake  throb  here 
and  there,  yet  she  has  an  exhaustless, 
recuperative,  and  assimilative  energy , 
which  distills  perfume  from  carrion, 
sweetness  from  rottenness.  So  the 
Bible,  with  all  its  contradictory  moods, 
and  conflicting  statements,  is  ever  in- 
finitely calm  and  healthful,  because  in- 
finitely vital.  Nature,  jnan,  and  Scrip- 
ture, when  read  with  an  open  eye,  prove 
themselves  to  be  successive  volumes  on 
the  same  theme,  and  from  the  same  Hand. 
—FALES  H.  NEWHALL,  D.  D. 
134 


part  II. 


272  T  may  be  that  this  last  battle  of  the 
world  is  to  prove  the  most  terrible 
of  all.  Satan  is  evidently  bringing 
up  his  reserves,  and  arming  his  hosts 
for  the  heaviest  onset  the  Church  has 
yet  seen.  Ancient  paganism  fell  be- 
fore the  Gospel;  mediaeval  supersti- 
tion gave  way  before  it.  But  will  not 
these  new  organizations  of  evil  in 
which  the  human  heart  is  displaying 
its  deadliest  antipathies  to  God,  prove 
too  strong  for  it?  Will  it  not  have  to 
retire  discomfited  before  those  armies 
of  the  aliens?  No;  if  this  be  the  last 
battle,  there  must  out  of  it  come  a 
last  victory  for  the  Book  of  God. 
Whether  that  victory  may  result  in 
a  wide  acceptance  of  the  Truth  over 
Europe  is  a  question  I  do  not  under- 
take to  answer;  but  that  there  will 
be  a  victory  of  some  kind  for  the 
Bible,  I  believe — victory  which  will 
show  that  there  is  no  amount  of  an- 
tagonism  to  God   which   it  can   not 

135 


136      (X  Cloub  of  XDitnesses. 


face,  and  no  strength  of  human  evil 
with  which  it  can  not  cope  success- 
fully as  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation. 

1 808-1 890.  H.  BONAR, 

"  White  Fields  of  France,"  p.  324, 

273  t^  HERE    are    philosophers   of  the 

■  world — your  cosmogonists,  or 
whatever  you  please  to  term  them — 
that  are  boring  down  to  the  deepest 
stratum  to  frame  their  hypotheses, 
their  ideas.  God  forbid  that  I  should 
hold  for  a  moment  true  science  to  be 
in  quarrel  with  revelation.  That  can 
never  be.  No,  sir;  the  God  who  made 
nature  wrote  the  Bible ;  and  I  am  not 
prepared  to  be  an  infidel  as  regards 
the  one  principle  any  more  than  an 
infidel  as  regards  the  other. 
1805- 1 862.  —George  W.  Bethune. 

274  ^^HE  inspired  poetry  of  David  or  of 

I  Job,  the  simple  narrative  of  the 
evangelists,  the  fiery  eloquence  of 
Peter  and  Paul,  are  unequaled  by  any 
poets  or  prose-writers  of  any  age  or 
country.     And  why  should  they  not, 


CI  Cloub  of  XDitnesses.      137 


then,  educate  their  students  as  well  as 
Homer  or  Virgil? 

—Maud  B.  Booth, 
"Beneath  Two  Flags,"  p.  249. 


275  ^HAT  the  Bible  is  not  less  condu- 
I  cive  to  the  well-being  of  man  in 
this  life,  than  it  is  essential  to  his 
hopes  in  that  which  is  to  come,  as  a 
theoretical  truth  might  in  advance  be 
deduced  from  the  character  of  the 
Sacred  Volume,  the  nature  of  its  con- 
tents and  their  adaptation  to  the  char- 
acter and  condition  of  man,  both  as 
an  isolated  individual  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  organized  society.  As  a  prac- 
tical truth  it  is  established  by  our 
experience  of  the  past,  and  is  there- 
fore an  historical  fact;  indeed,  the 
course  of  the  sun  in  the  progress  of 
the  seasons  is  not  more  distinctly 
marked  by  its  impress  on  vegetable 
life  than  has  been  the  dissemination 
of  the  Bible  in  its  influence  upon  the 
individual  character  and  the  social 
condition  of  man.  Wherever  the 
Bible  has  been  circulated  it  has  re- 


138     ex  <£loub  of  IPttnesses. 

claimed  the  individual  from  supersti- 
tion ;__ha^._exLlightened,  purified,  and 
given  true  direction  to  that  religious 
principle  which  seems  to  be  a  constit- 
uent element  in  his  nature.  .  ,  . 
Still  more  extensive  has  been  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Bible  upon  man's  social 
condition.  .  .  .  Wherever  it  has 
gone  it  has  carried  with  it  juster  no- 
tions of  individual  rights  and  sounder 
views  of  the  true  end  and  object  of 
government.  It  has  exerted  a  great 
and  benign  influence  upon  the  enact- 
ment of  laws  and  their  execution. 
It  has  given  its  solemn  sanction  to 
the  establishment  of  right,  and  has 
tempered  with  mercy  the  administra- 
tion of  justice.  And  while  it  has 
meliorated  the  punishment  of  of- 
fenses by  the  introduction  and  im- 
provement of  penitentiary  and  cor- 
rectional systems,  it  has  greatly 
strengthened  those  of  preventive  po- 
lice by  imposing  its  binding  restraints 
upon  the  indulgence  of  the  passions 
and  the  commission  of  crimes. 
Equally  great  and  salutary  has  been 
the     influence    of    the    Bible    upon 


N 


(X  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,      139 

the  mental  labors  and  the  intellectual 
condition  ■<)£  man  in  all  ages  and  in 
all  countries.  It  has  chastened  his 
imagination  and  invigorated  his  judg- 
ment. It  has  purified  literature,  ele- 
vated philosophy,  directed  science  to 
its  true  ends  and  aims,  and  thus  effect- 
ually contributed  to  the  advancement 
of  civilization  and  the  melioration  of 
the  world. 

— Hon.  lyUTHKR  Bradish, 
Address  before  the  American   Bible  So- 
ciety. 
1783-1863. 


276        OT  only  does  the  Bible  inculcate 

with  sanctions  of  highest  import 
a  system  of  the  purest  morality;  but 
in  the  person  and  character  of  our 
blessed  Savior  it  exhibits  a  tangible 
illustration  of  that  system.  In  him 
we  have  set  before  us — what,  till  the 
publication  of  the  Gospel,  the  world 
had  never  seen — a  model  of  feeling 
and  action,  adapted  to  all  times, 
places,  and  circumstances;  and  com- 
bining so   much    of  wisdom,  benev- 


140     a  Cloub  of  IDitnesses. 


olence,  and  holiness,  that  none  can 
fathom  its  sublimity ;  and  yet  pre- 
sented in  a  form  so  simple  that  even 
a  child  may  be  made  to  understand 
and  taught  to  love  it. 

— Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
In  an  Address  at  Alexandria,  D  C. 
1818-1876. 


277  ■|>' HIS  Work  in  all  ages  of  the 
■  world  has  ever  met  the  wants  of 
man,  has  ever  answered  the  earnest 
questions  of  a  struggling  spirit  as  no 
human  philosophy  ever  can.  While 
it  offers  its  truths  to  those  men 
highly  endowed  by  God,  it  is  emphat- 
ically also  the  poor  man's  Book, 
though  he  may  be  ignorant  of  the 
various  arguments  to  support  it. 
The  Scriptures  come  home  to  his  na- 
ture and  meet  the  various  wants  of 
his  soul,  and  he  finds  a  basis  for  be- 
lief that  the  hands  of  infidelity  can 
never  tear  down.  They  bring  him 
comfort  in  his  hours  of  despondency. 
Were  the  Bible  removed,  the  millions 
of  earth  would  be  like  mariners  upon 


(X  €ionb  of  tPttnesses.      141 
♦■ 

the  stormy  ocean    without   pole-star 
or  compass. 

1817 —  — Joseph  Cummings, 

President  Wesleyan  University. 

278  IT  is  a  grand  subject  for  meditation, 
■  to  behold  in  our  modern  societies 
the  love  of  the  holy  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  advancing  with  the  progress 
of  philosophy  and  of  political  insti- 
tutions, so  that  the  nations  which  are 
most  advanced  in  civilization  and  in 
liberty  are  also  the  most  religious, 
the  most  truly  Christian. 

— Baron  De  Stael  (fi/s). 


279  WHENCE  has  sprung  this  redeem- 
■■  ing  spirit  that  has  already  borne 
its  blessings  to  every  clime ;  that  floats 
the  Bethel  flag,  penetrates  the  gloom 
of  the  prison;  that  soothes  the  or- 
phan's cry,  and  pleads  the  cause  of 
the  widow;  that  opens  the  stores  of 
thought  and  memory  to  the  long- 
bound  intellects  of  the  deaf  and 
dumb ;  that  is  now  closing  the  door 
of   the  dram-shop — that   broad   and 


142     Ct  Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 

crowded  gateway  to  despair — and 
is  sounding  the  alarm  and  concen- 
trating the  efforts  of  the  wise  and 
good  in  view  of  the  Sabbath  profa- 
nation? The  Bible  has  done  all, 
sir.  Seal  up  this  one  volume,  and  in 
half  a  century  all  these  hopes  would 
wither  and  these  prospects  perish  for- 
ever. Those  sacred  temples  would 
crumble  or  become  receptacles  of  pol- 
lution and  crime. 

— Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 
1787-1 


280  Y  present  object  is  to  hint  at  the 
intimate  connection  between  the 
Bible  and  our  national  prosperity. 
The  destinies  of  our  beloved  country 
are  peculiarly  associated  with  the 
Bible.  It  was  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Bible  that  our  country  was  set- 
tled ;  it  was  the  Bible  that  conducted 
the  Pilgrim  to  our  eastern,  and  the 
Friend  to  our  central  wilderness.  If 
the  revolution  which  made  us  free  dif- 
fered in  mildness  of  character  from  all 
previous  revolutions,  it  was  because 
the  Bible  mitigated  its  severity.     If 


ex  Cloub  of  IDttnesses-      143 

our  emancipated  country  has  risen 
from  infancy  to  vigorous  youth,  if 
she  is  now  hailed  as  the  hope  of  the 
world,  the  tyrant's  dread,  and  the 
patriot's  boast,  let  her  thank  her 
statesmen  much;  let  her  thank  her 
Bible  more.  A  despotic  government 
may  subsist  without  the  Bible ;  a  re- 
public can  not.  A  republic  can  not, 
like  a  despotic  government,  be  sus- 
tained by  force.  She  can  not,  like  a 
despot,  tame  her  children  into  heart- 
less submission  by  the  bayonets  of  a 
mercenary  army;  her  bayonets  are 
reserved  for  the  invading  foe.  She 
must  depend  for  domestic  tranquillity, 
for  preserving  her  mild  institutions 
pure  and  unimpaired,  on  the  wide 
diffusion  of  moral  principle.  Were 
men  angels,  they  would  need  no  gov- 
ernment but  the  precepts  of  their 
Creator.  Were  they  devils,  they  must 
be  bound  in  adamantine  chains;  and 
as  they  approximate  the  one  state  or 
the  other,  their  government  must  be 
free  or  must  be  severe.  The  patriot 
then,  as  well  as  the  Christian,  must 
anxiously  inquire,  What  are  the  best 


144      a  £Iou6  of  XPitnesses. 

'♦■ 

means  of  promoting,  what  the  surest 
foundation  of  human  virtue  ?  .  .  . 
The  Being  who  made  man  has  also 
condescended  to  propose  a  plan  for 
his  moral  improvement;  a  plan  ex- 
ceeding in  eJBfect  all  human  systems 
as  far  as  the  Legislator  of  the  heavens 
surpasses  in  wisdom  the  statesmen  of 
earth.  The  Bible  is  not  a  scheme  of 
abstract  faith  and  doctrine;  its  great 
object  is  to  render  man  virtuous  here, 
and  thus  prepare  him  for  happiness 
hereafter.  ...  It  pervades  every 
department  of  society,  and  brings  its 
variegated  mass  within  the  influence 
of  that  high  moral  principle  which 
is  the  only  substitute  for  despotic 
power.  This  controlling  and  sus- 
taining principle  has  no  substantial 
basis  but  the  Bible;  its  other  founda- 
tions have  ever  proved  to  be  sand. 
The  Bible  is  found  to  be  its  only 
rock.  ...  A  republic  without  the 
Bible  will  inevitably  become  the  vic- 
tim of  licentiousness;  it  contains 
within  itself  the  turbulent  and  un- 
tamable elements  of  its  own  destruc- 
tion.    There  is  no  political  Bden  for 


CI  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.      145 
■♦■ 

fallen  man  save  what  the  Bible  pro- 
tects. — George  Griffin, 

New  York.     Address  before  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society. 

281  ^KSPOTISM  may  exist  independ- 
ent  of  morality;  but  republics 
soon  perish  when  the  people  becomes 
corrupt.  The  efforts  of  Christian 
patriots,  therefore,  must  be  directed 
to  elevate  and  sustain  the  moral 
character  of  our  citizens;  and  no 
method  is  so  efficient  to  this  end  as  to 
imbue  them  with  the  knowledge  and 
wisdom  of  the  Bible.  It  opens  to  our 
view  the  only  true  source  of  moral 
obligation  or  of  public  and  private 
duty,  and  enforces  these  with  the 
only  sanctions  that  can  affect  the 
mind  and  reach  the  conscience  of  man; 
namely,  the  omniscience  and  goodness 
and  mercy  of  God  and  the  certain  ret- 
ributions of  the  life  to  come.  With- 
out these  sanctions,  the  laws  are  no 
longer  observed;  oaths  lose  their 
hold  on  the  conscience;  promises  are 
violated;  frauds  are  multiplied,  and 
moral  obligation  is   dissolved.      And 


146      a  Cloub  of  XPttnesses. 


these  securities  natural  religion  does 
not  furnish;  they  are  found  in  the 
Bible  alone.  In  sublimity  of  thought, 
in  grandeur  of  conception,  in  purity 
and  elevation  of  moral  principle,  in 
the  practical  wisdom  of  its  teachings, 
and,  above  all,  in  the  high  and  im- 
portant character  of  its  themes,  the 
Holy  Bible  is  not  even  approached 
by  any  human  composition. 

—Simon  Greenlkaf, 
Harvard  University  School  of  Law. 
1781-1853. 


282 1¥/K  say,  then,  that  the  writings 
"  about  which  there  is  no  dispute 
amongst  Christians,  and  which  have 
any  particular  person's  name  affixed 
to  them  are  that  author's  whose  title 
they  are  marked  with,  because  the 
first  writers  quote  those  books  under 
those  names.  Neither  did  any  hea- 
thens or  Jews  raise  any  controversy  as 
if  they  were  not  the  works  of  those 
whose  they  were  said  to  be.  .  .  . 
There  is  no  reason  for  us  Christians 
to    doubt    the    credibility    of   these 


CI  (Cloub  of  tPttnesses.      147 
■    ♦■ 

books  (of  the  Old  Testament)  because 
there  are  testimonies  in  our  books 
(of  the  New  Testament)  out  of  al- 
most every  one  of  them.  Nor  did 
Christ,  when  he  reproved  many  things 
in  the  teachers  of  the  I^aw,  ever  ac- 
cuse them  of  falsifying  the  books  of 
Moses  and  the  Prophets,  or  of  using 
supposititious  or  altered  books.  And 
it  can  never  be  proved  or  made  cred- 
itable that  after  Christ's  time  the 
Scripture  should  be  corrupted  in  any- 
thing of  moment,  if  we  do  but  con- 
sider how  far  and  wide  the  Jewish 
nation,  who  everywhere  kept  these 
books,  was  dispersed  over  the  whole 
world.  Hugo  Grotius. 

1583-1645. 

283  I  KT  this  precious  Volume  have  its 
■■  proper  influence  on  the  hearts  of 
men,  and  our  liberties  are  safe,  our 
country  blessed,  and  the  world  happy. 
There  is  not  a  tie  that  unites  us  to 
our  families,  not  a  virtue  that  endears 
us  to  our  country,  nor  a  hope  that 
thrills  your  bosoms  in  the  prospect  of 
future    happiness,  that   has  not    its 


148      a  (Cloub  of  IDttnesses. 


foundation  in  this  Sacred  Book.  It 
is  the  charter  of  characters — the  pal- 
ladium of  liberty — the  standard  of 
righteousness.  Its  Divine  influence 
can  soften  the  heart  of  the  tyrant,  can 
break  the  rod  of  the  oppressor,  and 
exalt  the  humblest  peasant  to  the 
dignified  rank  of  an  immortal  being, 
an  heir  of  eternal  glory. 
1777-1864.  — John  C.  Hornblower, 

Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey. 

284  MO  good  for  bad  white  man  to  tell 


N 


stopped  my  swearin'  and  stealin'  and 
lyin',  when  I'd  done  'em  all  forty 
years  steady.  It 's  a  miracle  that  I  've 
stopped,  but  it  would  be  a  bigger  one 
if  a  book  that  wa'n't  true  could  'a' 
made  me."  — Indian  Convert. 

285  IJUMAN  laws  labor  under  many 
■  i  other  great  imperfections.  They 
extend  to  external  actions  only.  They 
can  not  reach  that  catalogue  of  secret 
crimes  which  are  committed  without 
any  witness  save  the  all-seeing  eye 
of    that    Being   whose    presence    is 


a  Cloub  of  IDttnesses,      149 


everywhere,  and  whose  laws  reach 
the  hidden  recesses  of  vice,  and  carry 
their  sanctions  to  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart.  In  this  view 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  supply  all 
the  deficiencies  of  human  laws,  and 
lend  an  essential  aid  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  — ^jAMEs  Kent, 
1763-1847.  Chancellor,  New  York. 

286  jp^Y  opinion  of  the  Sacred  Volume 

is,  that  it  is  to  a  nation  as  the 
keystone  to  the  arch.  No  nation  can 
long  exist  in  peace  that  does  not  re- 
spect it.  It  carries  peace  and  happi- 
ness into  every  society  where  its  pre- 
cepts are  loved  and  its  commands 
obeyed.  To  the  young,  its  value  and 
importance  are  beyond  compare. 

— Coi^ONEIv   LOOMIS, 

1852—  United  States  Army. 

287  ijs  the  king  among  his  subjects,  as 

the  sun  among  the  stars,  so  is  the 
Bible  compared  with  every  other 
book.  .  .  .  It  is  to  this  blessed  Vol- 
ume that  we  are  indebted  for  the  gen- 


ISO      CX  Cloub  of  XPitnesses. 


eral  temperance,  industry,  and  content- 
ment of  the  teeming  millions  of  this 
happy  and  highly-favored  country. 
— Joseph  Henry  Lumpkin, 
i8i2-i86o.       Chief  Justice,  Georgia. 


288^  HE  Book  is  not  the  truth  ;  it  con- 
■  tains  it.  The  types  and  words  are 
not  the  truth  or  the  Word  of  God ; 
they  are  but  the  outward  expression 
and  symbols  of  that  Word. 

— Chari.ES  Pettit  McIlvaine, 

Bishop  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
Address  at   42 d   Anniversary  American 

Bible  Society. 

1799-1873. 


289  ttUT  herein  to  our  Prophets  far  be- 
■^       neath 
As  men  divinely   taught   and  better 

teaching 
The  solid   rules  of  civil  government 
In  their  majestic,  unaffected  style, 
Than  all   the  oratory  of  Greece  and 

Rome. 
In  them  is  plainest  taught  and  easiest 

learnt 


CI  Cloub  of  IPttnesses,      151 
- — 4— r 

What    makes    a   nation   happy,   and 

keeps  it  so, 
What  ruins  kingdoms  and  lays  cities 

flat. 
1608-1674.  —John  Milton. 


290  M  O  one  can  estimate  or  describe  the 
salutary  influences  of  the  Bible. 
What  would  the  world  be  without 
it  ?  Compare  the  dark  places  of  the 
earth  where  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
has  not  penetrated  with  those  where 
it  has  been  proclaimed  and  embraced 
in  all  its  purity.  .  .  .  The  Bible 
has  shed  a  glorious  light  upon  our 
world.  .  .  The  Bible  has  given  us 
a  sublime  and  pure  morality,  to  which 
the  world  was  a  stranger.  .  .  . 
No  system  out  of  the  Bible  recog- 
nizes an  Omniscient  Power  which 
scrutinizes  the  actions  of  men,  and, 
looking  behind  the  act,  takes  notice 
of    the    motive.      .     .     .     The    laws 


152      d  (£loub  of  IPttnesses. 
.♦■ 

which  belong  to  the  social  relation  are 
found  in  the  Bible. 

— John  McI^ean, 
Justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 
1785-1861. 
On   the    Wholesome    Influence    of    the 
Bible  on  our  Social  and  Civil  lyife. 


291  ^  S  bread  accompanies  all  our  meals 
"  all  through  our  lives,  so  ought 
the  reading  of  the  Word  of  God  to 
accompany  all  our  studies. 

— Je:an  Frederick  Oberun. 
1 735-1 806. 


i  we  believe  the  Scriptures  to  con- 
tain a  declaration  of  the  mind  and 
will  of  God  in  and  to  those  ages  in 
which  they  were  written ;  being  given 
forth  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  moving  in 
the  hearts  of  holy  men  of  God;  that 
they  ought  also  to  be  read,  believed, 
and  fulfilled  in  our  day ;  being  use- 
ful for  reproof  and  inspiration,  that 


Ct  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.      153 

>♦■ 

the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect. 
They  are  a  declaration  and  testimony 
of  heavenly  things,  but  not  the  heav- 
enly things  themselves,  and,  as  such, 
we  carry  a  high  respect  for  them. 
We  accept  them  as  the  words  of  God 
himself;  and,  by  the  assistance  of  his 
Spirit,  they  are  read  with  great  in- 
struction and  comfort. 
1644-17 18.  — ^William  Penn. 


*93  There  is  a  saying,  as  true  as  it  is 
■  trite,  that  we  seldom  estimate 
blessings  properly  until  we  have  lost 
them ;  and  perhaps,  therefore,  the  vast 
importance  of  the  Bible,  not  only  to 
ourselves,  but  to  those  unhappy  beings 
who  have  never  known  it,  may  be 
best  imagined  and  most  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  our  minds  by  consider- 
ing, for  a  moment,  what  we  our- 
selves would  be  without  it.  Sup- 
pose, then,  that  at  this  very  mo- 
ment the  Bible,  with  all  the  institu- 
tions connected  with  it,  were  blotted 
from  existence,  what  would  be  the 
effect  upon  this  happy  and  enlight- 


154      ^  £Iou6  of  IDttnesses. 
♦ 

ened  land?  Would  it  not  become 
comparatively  a  scene  of  worse  than 
Egyptian  darkness  and  savage  barbar- 
ism ?  Would  it  not  become,  compared 
with  what  it  now  is,  a  melancholy 
scene  of  civil,  political,  and  moral 
degradation;  and  exhibit  the  same 
relation  to  its  present  palmy  state 
that  is  now  presented  by  the  pagan 
and  heathen  natives  of  the  world? 
Can  there  be  a  doubt  of  this?  Is  it 
not  a  fact  that  exactly  in  proportion  as 
the  principles  of  the  Gospel  prevail 
among  a  people,  or  they  are  ignorant 
of  and  unactuated  by  them,  so  they 
are  either  distinguished  by  all  the 
qualities  and  endowments  that  ele- 
vate and  purify  and  adorn  our  na- 
ture, or  debased  by  the  vices  and 
abominations  that  degrade  it  ?  Is  it 
not  a  fact  that  heathen  nations  gen- 
erally are  the  more  ignorant  and  bar- 
barous on  the  earth;  and  that  while 
all  Christian  nations  are  immeasurably 
elevated  above  the  heathen  in  knowl- 
edge, virtue,  and  benevolence,  so  the 
relative  rank  and  attainments  of 
Christian  uations  themselves  are  gov- 


a  (£Iou6  of  IDitnesses.      155 


emed  by  the  extra  degree  in  which 
they  possess  and  practice  the  Gospel 
in  its  purity  ? 

— H.  ly.  PiNCKNEY,  M.  C, 
From  South  CaroHna. 
In  Address  at  Bible  Meeting,  District 
of  Columbia.     1834. 


^94  Jn  New  Zealand,  and  in  other  parts 
'  of  the  world,  we  are  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  new  societies;  and  the  future 
character  and  moral  tendency  of  those 
societies  which  may  spring  up  into 
great  kingdoms  may  be,  and  no  doubt 
will  be,  determined  by  the  basis  of 
moral  and  religious  instruction  upon 
which  we  now  establish  them.  If  at 
their  first  institution  there  be  no  pains 
taken  to  instill  into  their  minds  the 
principles  of  true  religion,  in  place  of 
becoming  great  and  valuable  king- 
doms, the  inhabitants  may  become 
pests  to  all  around  them,  corrupting 
all  within  their  reach ;  but  if,  in  lay- 
ing the  foundation  of  their  future 
empire,  we  shall  sow  the  truth  of 
real  religion,  hereafter  this  land  may 


156      CI  £lou6  of  IDttnesses. 
■♦ 

claim  for  itself  the  proud  and  high 
distinction  of  having  propagated  the 
knowledge  and  Word  of  God,  and  of 
having  laid  the  foundation,  not  only 
of  great,  but  moral  kingdoms. 
1788-1850.  — Robert  Peeiv, 

From  Address,  Tamworth.     1827. 

295  P^ANY  and  ingenious  speculations 
*  ■  have  been  given  to  the  world  to 
account  for  the  repeated  and  disas- 
trous failure  of  the  successive  attempts 
which  have  been  made,  during  the 
last  seventy  years,  to  establish  and 
sustain  a  system  of  free  government 
in  this  country.  However  nu- 
merous and  various  the  secondary 
causes  to  which  the  melancholy  and 
remarkable  fact  may  be  ascribed,  the 
one  efficient  and  primary  cause,  I  am 
convinced,  is  to  be  found  in  the  gen- 
eral eradication  from  the  national 
mind  of  Divine  truth  and  Divine  au- 
thority by  the  philosophy,  falsely  so- 
called,  of  the  last  century,  which  had 
its  origin  and  has  continued  to  main- 
tain its  fatal  influence  here.  The 
French  nation  has  not  been  wanting 


(Z  (Zlonb  of  IDUnesses.      157 


in  many  of  the  circumstances  ordina- 
rily deemed  the  most  essential  to  the 
practice  and  support  of  free  govern- 
ment. They  have  undoubtedly  had, 
in  their  successive  essays  at  constitu- 
tional liberty,  the  aid  and  direction  of 
many  men  of  great  and  distinguished 
talents,  in  a  worldly  sense,  both  in 
the  cabinet  and  the  senate.  Nor  are 
the  mass  of  the  people  so  ignorant 
and  uninformed  on  general  topics  as 
is  by  some  imagined.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  mere  rural  laborers,  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  any  country 
in  which  the  population  engaged  in 
the  ordinary  industrious  callings  of  life 
are  more  intelligent,  nimble-witted, 
and  even  exercised  in  reading  of  cer- 
tain kinds.  There  is  one  Book,  how- 
ever, which  remains  sealed,  for  the 
the  most  part,  to  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety, and  that  is  the  Book  of  Eter- 
nal Wisdom,  with  all  its  precious 
lessons  of  duty  to  God  and  man,  of 
temperance,  of  moderation,  of  self- 
control,  of  conscientious  obedience  to 
the  still  small  voice  within.  Hence  it 
is  that  in  the  agitations  and  struggles 


158      a  £loub  of  IDitnesses. 
4. 

inseparable  from  the  existence  of  civil 
and  political  freedom,  abandoned  to 
the  infirmities  of  our  common  nature, 
without  the  chastening  discipline  of 
the  Gospel,  they  have  had  no  internal 
strength  to  fortify  and  keep  them 
erect  against  the  disturbing  influ- 
ences from  without,  and  to  restrain 
the  violence  and  fury  of  the  passions ; 
no  monitor  to  recall  them,  from  time 
to  time,  from  the  eagerness  of  their 
worldly  contentions  and  pursuits  to 
the  recollection  of  their  immortal 
destinies  and  responsibilities;  no 
standard  of  infallible  truth  by  which 
to  try  the  inventions  of  mere  human 
reason.  And  thus  have  we  seen  in  so 
many  instances,  in  this  country,  a  fit- 
ful and  spurious  liberty  degenerating 
into  license  and  crime,  or  torn  and 
distracted  by  factions,  or  frightening 
mankind  by  the  proclamation  of  new 
and  disorganizing  theories,  to  be  swal- 
lowed up  at  last  in  a  degrading  and 
relentless  despotism.  The  lesson 
which  the  melancholy  experience  of 
France  teaches  on  this  subject  is 
one   of  universal    application.     The 


(X  £lou6  of  IDttnesses.      159 


blessings  of  a  free  popular  govern- 
ment can  not,  I  am  convinced,  be  long 
preserved  anywhere  but  by  the  influ- 
ence and  discipline  of  the  Christian 
religion  deeply  implanted  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety. 

— William  Cabell  Rives, 
1793-1868.     United  States  Minister  to 
France.     1852. 
On  the    Connection  Between  Civil  and 
Political   Liberty  and  the  Study  and 
Reverence  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

296  I  HAVE  had  this  Bible  as  my  com- 

■  panion  for  fifty-three  years.  Forty- 
one  years  of  that  time  I  have  spent  at 
sea;  I  have  been  in  forty-five  engage- 
ments; have  been  fifteen  times 
wounded,  and  three  times  ship- 
wrecked; I  have  had  fevers,  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  fifteen  times.  But  my 
consolation  has  always  been  in  this 
little  Companion  of  mine. 

— An  English  Seaman, 
On  showing  a  well-worn  Bible  at  the 
depository  of  the  I^ondon  Bible  So- 
ciety. 


i6o      CI  Cloub  of  IDitncsses* 
•*• 

297WOUIyD  that  a  history  of  the 
*^  American  Revolution  could 
have  been  written  by  one  who, 
like  Xenophon,  was  a  distinguished 
actor  in  the  scenes  described,  and 
who,  imbued  with  the  right  spirit, 
could  illustrate  by  appropriate  facts 
the  influence  which  animated  and 
upheld  the  agents  in  that  mighty 
struggle!  In  such  a  work,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  the  present  and  future  gen- 
erations would  perceive  the  fruits  of 
early  Biblical  instruction,  and  learn 
the  value  of  the  Bible  in  the  day  of 
adversity.  They  would  see  the  effect 
of  a  mother's  early  faithfulness  to 
the  immortal  Washington,  who  suf- 
fered not  a  day  to  pass  over  him 
without  consulting  his  Bible.  They 
would  behold  in  an  American  Con- 
gress, fully  exemplified,  the  union  of 
humble  piety  with  exalted  patriot- 
ism ;  a  body  on  whom  the  whole  con- 
duct of  the  war  was  developed,  but 
who,  nevertheless,  could  anxiously 
deliberate  on  the  means  of  obtaining 
from  abroad  (such  was  their  estimate 
of  its   worth)  copies  of  the   Sacred 


(X  £lou6  of  IDitnesses.      i6i 


Volume  for  their  destitute  and  implor- 
ing fellow-citizens;  in  short,  they 
would  perceive,  not  only  the  gallant 
bearing  of  a  patriot  army,  but  their 
patient  endurance  under  unparalleled 
privations,  and  the  invincible  spirit 
displayed  by  all  classes  of  a  suffering 
people  plainly  ascribable,  in  no  mod- 
erate degree,  to  an  early  and  deeply- 
impressed  acquaintance  with  the  Bi- 
ble through  the  medium  of  maternal 
faithfulness  and  the  common  school. 
— John  Cotton  Smith. 
1765-1845. 

298  fcj  ERE,  then,  the  body  of  educated 
■■  men  must  take  their  stand.  By 
all  the  means  in  their  power  they 
must  endeavor  to  avert  the  pestilent 
mischief  of  desecrating  the  places  of 
instruction,  of  separating  the  cul- 
ture of  the  heart  from  that  of  the 
mind,  and  under  the  pretense  of  a  lib- 
eral morality  that  is  clear  in  its  source, 
pure  in  its  precepts,  and  efficacious 
in  its  influence — t/ie  morality  of  the 
Gospel.  — ^JoHN  Sargent, 

Address  Nassau  Hall. 
u 


i62      a  Cloub  of  IPttnesses. 


299  THE  antiquary  will  return,  with  no 

■  ordinary  curiosity,  to  the  earliest 
complete  volume  that  remains  to  us 
of  ancient  manuscript,  and  the  first 
that  issued  from  the  press  after  the 
invention  of  printing.  The  historian, 
if  he  regards  it  of  no  higher  author- 
ity than  Herodotus,  will  prize  it  as 
the  precursor  of  that  author  and  the 
foundation  of  his  department.  The 
statesman  will  face  the  outlines  of  the 
earliest  legislation  and  jurisprudence 
known  to  history,  and  the  most  per- 
fect moral  code  of  any  age  or  country. 
The  lawyer,  in  the  details  of  the  pro- 
fessional pursuits  which  engage  his 
attention  through  life,  will  meet  with 
many  pertinent  examples  and  instruc- 
tions. — David  Swain, 
1 801-1868.     Governor  North  Carolina. 

300  "y^K  Scriptures  also  teach  that  to 

"  derive  all  the  benefit  which  God 
designed  to  bestow  in  revealing  him- 
self to  his  fallen  creatures,  man,  on 
his  part,  must  strive  to  do  God's  will. 
Let  man  do  this,  and  he  will  know 
whether  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God 


a  CIou6  of  tPttnesses.       163 
.4, 

or  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  Men  of 
any  experience  and  observation  must 
have  seen  those  who  have  been  re- 
claimed from  a  profane  and  immoral 
course  of  conduct  to  sobriety,  truth, 
piety,  and  happiness,  by  studying  and 
obeying  the  Sacred  Oracles  of  eternal 
truth.  — Commodore  Skinner, 

United  States  Navy.     1852. 

301  ^HH  Bible  is  the  grand  charter  of 

■  man's  political  and  civil  equality, 
liberty,  and  order.  It  is  the  guardian 
and  the  only  adequate  protector  of 
his  social  happiness.  Should  the  hu- 
man race  ever  come  fully  under  its 
influence,  both  national  wars  and  per- 
sonal dissensions  would  cease,  and  this 
world  would  become  a  terrestrial  par- 
adise. 

— Benjamin  Silliman,  Sr., 
1 779-1 864.  Yale  College. 

302  ^NF  all  men,  American  scholars 
^^  ought  not  to  be  ignorant  of  any- 
thing which  the  Bible  contains.  If 
Cicero  could  declare  that  the  laws  of 
the  twelve  tables  were  worth  all  the 


x64      a  (£Iou6  of  Witmsszs* 


libraries  of  the  philosophers ;  if  they 
were  the  carmen  7iecessarium  of  the 
Roman  youth,  —  how  laboriously 
ought  you  to  investigate  its  contents, 
and  inscribe  them  upon  your  hearts! 
— Samuei.  I/Ewis  Southard, 
1 787-1842.      Governor  of  New  Jersey. 

303  IF  there  be  any  one  subject  that  at 
'  this  day  commands  general  atten- 
tion, it  is  that  of  national  and  social 
oppression.  This  is  not  confined  to 
one  country  or  one  people,  but  it  is 
so  throughout  all  Christendom.  Hu- 
manity everywhere  rises  up  and  de- 
nies the  law  of  its  bondage.  .  .  . 
How  were  the  American  people  elec- 
trified by  the  masses  of  Europe  link- 
ing together  in  one  brotherhood,  the 
high  and  the  low,  under  impulses 
common  to  our  nature  !  All  this  we 
saw  with  amazement  and  delight,  and 
then  we  beheld  the  ground,  so  nobly 
won,  all  lost.  Despotism  and  treach- 
ery decimated  and  crushed  the  forces 
of  the  free.  Why  was  this?  We 
changed  our  form  of  government,  and 
peace  and  quiet  followed.    They  made 


d  Cloub  of  IDitnesses.      165 


■^ 


the  same  attempt,  and  failed.  The 
cause  did  not  exist  in  mere  outward 
circumstances,  but  in  the  want  of 
those  early  associations  derived  from 
the  Word  of  God.  A  free  Bible 
makes  free  men  the  world  over.  With- 
out Bible  views  of  liberty  and  equal- 
ity, the  American  Revohition  would 
have  been  smothered  in  its  own 
blood.  .  .  .  We  hear  much  of 
the  mission  of  the  American  people. 
One  mission,  at  least,  we  have;  but  it 
should  be  understood  that  our  suc- 
cess lies,  not  in  outward  constitutions, 
but  in  those  inner  principles  that  are 
the  seeds  of  a  Christian  democrac}^ 
Constitutions  and  charters  are  all  well, 
but  they  must  have  their  basis  in  that 
great  charter  given  by  the  King  Eter- 
nal, immortal,  and  invisible,  as  a  foun- 
dation on  which  to  erect  the  super- 
structure of  human  rights.  The  late- 
lamented  IvCgare  said  that  every  man 
who  stepped  from  the  MayJIower  was 
himself  a  living  constitution  ;  and  un- 
til Europe  posseses  such  men  she  will 
pant  for  liberty  in  vain.  We  can  be 
liberty-propagandists  only  by  becom- 


i66      CI  (£lou6  of  IPttncsses. 
.^ 

ing  Bible-propagandists.  Carlyle  may- 
write  his  latter-day  pamphlets  to  try 
to  stay  the  progress  of  democracy,  but 
here,  in  the  Bible,  is  the  great  latter- 
day  pamphlet  which  will  survive  that 
great  day  for  which  all  other  days 
were  made.  It  needs  no  eulogy. 
Christianity  has  written  it  on  the 
whole  course  of  her  history. 

— John  Thompson, 
In  an  Address  to  the  theme :  The  Bible, 
in  its  letter  and  spirit,  furnishes 
the  best  of  all  standards  by  which 
to  test  the  numerous  theories  of  the 
day  for  improving  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  race. 

304  I  ACCEPT,  with  gratitude  and  pleas- 
■  ure,  your  gift  of  this  inestimable 
Volume.  It  was  for  the  love  of  the 
truths  of  this  great  and  good  Book 
that  our  fathers  abandoned  their  na- 
tive shores  for  the  wilderness.  Ani- 
mated by  its  lofty  principles,  they 
toiled  and  suffered  till  the  desert 
blossomed  as  the  rose.  These  same 
truths  sustained  them  in  their  resolu- 
tion  to  become  a  free  nation ;    and, 


(X  (£ioub  of  IDitnesses.  167 
■♦■ 
guided  by  the  wisdom  of  this  Book, 
they  founded  a  government  under 
which  we  have  grown  from  three  mill- 
ions to  more  than  twenty  millions  of 
people,  and  from  being  but  a  stock 
on  the  borders  of  this  continent,  we 
have  spread  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  — Zachary  Taylor, 

1 784-1 850.     1 2th  President  of  the  U.  S. 

To  the  ladies  of  Frankfort,  on  receiving 

a  copy  of  the  Bible  bound  with  that  of 

the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

305  R^  government,  we  are  to  under- 
■^  stand  the  power  that  makes  and 
administers  law.  Kvery  government 
has  certain  duties  to  discharge ;  fore- 
most among  which  is  the  restraint  of 
the  passions  of  man,  the  repression  of 
turbulence  and  disorder,  and  this  is 
the  direct  object  of  a  police.  The  ne- 
cessity for  such  action  grows  out  of 
the  universal  prevalence  of  passions 
that  need  to  be  repressed.  The  form 
of  this  police  depends  upon  the  genius 
of  the  people  who  are  governed.  In 
a  despotic  nation  it  is  very  simple, 
consisting  merely  in  the  exercise  of 


i68      <X  (£lou6  of  XPttncsses* 


terror  and  of  force.  So  in  decayed 
and  false  republics,  like  that  of  Ven- 
ice, the  police  has  a  secret  and  un- 
bounded power.  But  in  such  a  coun- 
try as  ours  the  problem  is  one  not  so 
easily  solved.  Yet  here,  it  must  be 
manifest  that  a  vigilant  and  effective 
police  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
prevalence  of  order  and  of  quiet.  The 
liberty  of  speech  and  opinion  which 
prevails  renders  this  essential,  and  to 
accomplish  this  object  we  must  look 
to  something  more  than  the  array  of 
civil  officers.  There  is  little  in  our 
form  of  government  to  inspire  awe  or 
fear;  ft  operates  silently  and  almost 
unnoticed.  We  must  have  other  and 
stronger  support  than  the  array  of 
authority  finds.  And  although  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  is  one  great 
element  of  this  reliance,  still  to  the 
Bible,  and  to  the  power  of  the  truths 
which  it  contains,  are  we  far  more  in- 
debted than  to  any  other  cause  for 
the  preservation  of  order  and  of  peace 
throughout  the  land.  Even  this  city, 
with  a  vastly  increased  police,  with- 
out  the    Bible,   without   the    pulpit, 


CI  (£Iou6  of  IPitnesses.      169 


without  any  of  the  influences  that 
flow  from  the  power  of  reHgious  truth, 
could  not  preserve  peace  and  order 
and  security  of  person  and  property, 
for  a  single  year.  The  Bible  makes 
a  man  afraid  to  do  wrong,  because  it 
teaches  him  that  he  thereby  violates 
the  laws  of  his  conscience  and  his  God. 
And  by  this  influence  alone  it  con- 
tributes immensely  to  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  the  community.  The 
Bible,  moreover,  infuses  into  the  bosom 
of  every  man  a  feeling  of  self-control, 
and  in  so  doing  it  lays  the  foundation 
for  a  simple,  thorough,  and  effective 
government  of  the  country.  The 
cheapness  of  this  method  of  police, 
moreover,  should  commend  it  to  the  fa- 
vor of  this  money-loving  age.  In  all 
respects  it  is  infinitely  superior  to 
every  measure  of  secret  espionage  to 
which  a  Napoleon  or  a  Nicholas  may 
resort.  The  elements  of  such  a  moral 
police,  it  is  evident,  must  be  everywhere 
diffused ;  must  pervade '  all  classes, 
purify  all  motives,  and  inspire  every- 
where a  regard  for  justice  and  for  the 
high  and  holy  truths  of  the  Word  of 


I70      a  Cloub  of  XDitnesses. 
•♦- 

God.  To  accomplish  this,  the  Bible 
must  find  its  way  into  every  family 
and  every  school-house  in  the  coun- 
tr5^  Nothing  short  of  this  will  insure 
success.  Men  must  be  fed,  and  fed 
abundantly,  with  the  Bread  of  Life. 
1 800-1 877.    — Emory  Washburn, 

Governor  of  Massachusetts. 
Speaking  to  the  theme :  The  general 
diffusion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  an 
efficient  measure  of  domestic  police  in 
a  republic,  deserves  the  countenance 
and  support  of  every  friend  of  our  free 
institutions. 


306  I  REGRET  that  my  time  is  not 
*  more  at  my  command,  that  I  might 
evince  the  interest  I  feel  in  the  Bi- 
ble-cause by  something  of  more  ac- 
count than  mere  profession.  It  is  de- 
lightful to  witness  the  exertions  that 
are  now  making  b}^  the  Christian  world 
to  dispel  the  night  of  ignorance  that 
yet  obscures  so  large  a  portion  of  this 


CI  Cloub  of  IDttnesses.      171 


planet,  and  to  supply  its  place  by  the 
light  of  the  cross.  The  manifesta- 
tions of  Divine  support  are  well- 
fitted  to  awaken  all  our  energies  and 
excite  us  to  higher  efforts  than  have 
ever  yet  been  made.  Even  if  we 
should  not  succeed  to  the  full  extent 
of  our  hopes  and  wishes,  we  shall 
make  such  an  impression  as  shall 
shake  the  heathen  world  and  prepare 
the  way  for  a  complete  victory  by 
those  who  are  to  follow  us.  Nay, 
even  if  we  fail  in  a  great  attempt,  and 
the  grandeur  and  philanthropy  of  the 
enterprise  must  be  reward  enough 
for  all  our  exertions.  But  we  shall 
not  fail.  There  is  a  God  who  looks 
down  upon  us  and  witnesses  our  ef- 
forts, and  a  Savior  who  approves  and 
will  sustain  us  by  his  intercession. 
The  cause  is  good,  the  hearts  that 
support  it  are  true  and  good,  and  the 
God  who  upholds  it  is  almighty.  Let 
us  go  on,  then,  with  courage  and  con- 
stancy, nothing  doubting,  and  the 
Red  Sea  will  open  before  us,  the 
Rock  in  the  desert  will  pour  forth  its 
stream,  and   the   Eastern   wilderness 


172      <X  Cloub  of  IDitnesscs. 
^ 

will  once  more  bud  and  blossom  like 
the  rose.  — WiIvLiam  Wirt, 

1772-1834. 

Attorney-General,  United  States. 

From   a  letter  addressed,   in   1838,  to  a 

meeting  in  New  York,  the  design  of 

which  was  to  increase  the  circulation 

of  the  Scriptures  throughout  the  world. 


READ  the  Bible!  Read  the  Bible  ! 
Let  no  religious  book  take  its 
place.  Through  all  my  perplexities 
and  distresses  I  never  read  any  other 
book,  and  I  never  felt  the  want  of  any 
other.  It  has  been  my  hourly  study ; 
and  all  my  knowledge  of  the  doctrines, 
and  all  my  acquaintance  with  the  ex- 
perience and  realities  of  religion, 
have  been  derived  from  the  Bible 
only.  I  think  religious  people  do  not 
read  the  Bible  enough.  Books  about 
religion  may  be  useful  enough,  but 
they  will  not  do  instead  of  the  simple 
truth  of  the  Bible. 

— William  Wilberforce. 
1 789-1 833.  His  dying  words. 


CI  (Cloub  of  XDttnesses.      173 
4. 

308  ^PO   those  who   have  carefully  ob- 

■  served  or  considered  the  progress 
of  civil  and  religious  freedom  at  dif- 
ferent times  and  in  various  countries, 
it  can  be  hardly  necessary  to  say,  it 
has  always  been  the  most  rapid  as 
well  as  the  most  healthy  where  the 
Bible  was  most  widely  disseminated, 
and  where  the  sacred  truths  contained 
therein  were  brought  home  to  the 
greatest  number  of  the  people.  In- 
deed, there  is  no  nation,  although 
nominally  civilized  and  Christianized, 
which  has  made  any  very  great  ad- 
vancement in  the  amelioration  and 
improvement  of  the  social  condition 
of  the  masses  except  those  nations 
where  the  Sacred  Scriptures  were  in 
the  hands  of  and  studied  by  the  peo- 
ple generally. 

— Reuben  Henry  Walworth, 
1 789-1 867.  Chancellor,  New  York. 

309  I  SHALL,  however,  as  being  in  duty 
'  bound  to  follow  the  truth  so  far  as 
I  can  discern  it,  have  to  make  many 
confessions  to  the  prejudice,  not,  as  I 
trust,  of    Christian  belief  or  of  the 


174      ^  <£lou6  of  XDttnesses. 


Sacred  Volume,  but  only  of  us  who, 
as  its  students,  have  failed  gravely 
and  at  many  points  in  the  duty  of  a 
temperate  and  cautious  treatment  of 
it,  as  unhappily  we  have  also  failed  in 
every  other  duty.  But  as  the  lines 
and  laws  of  duty  at  large  remain  un- 
obscured,  notwithstanding  the  imper- 
fections everywhere  diffused,  so  we 
may  trust  that  sufl&cient  light  yet  re- 
mains for  us,  if  duly  followed,  whereby 
to  establish  the  authority  and  sufl&- 
ciency  of  tloly  Scripture  for  its  high 
moral  and  spiritual  purposes.  For 
the  present  I  have  endeavored  to 
point  out  that  the  operations  of  crit- 
icism, properly  so-called,  affecting  as 
they  do  the  library  form  of  the  books, 
leave  the  questions  of  history,  mir- 
acle, revelation,  substantially  where 
they  found  them.  I  shall  in  several 
succeeding  papers  strive  to  show,  at 
least  by  specimens,  that  science  and 
research  have  done  much  to  sustain 
the  historical  credit  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  that  in  doing  this  they  have 
added  strength  to  the  argument  which 
contends  that  in  them  we  find  a  Di- 


Ci  (£Iou6  of  IDttncsses.      175 


vine  revelation ;  and  that  the  evi- 
dence, rationally  viewed,  both  of  con- 
tents and  of  results,  binds  us  to  stand 
where  our  forefathers  have  stood, 
upon  the  ImpregnabIvE  Rock  of 
Holy  Scripture. 

— W11.1.1AM  EwART  Gladstone, 
"  The  Impregnable  Rock  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture." 
1809 — 


W  TS  light  is  like  the  body  of  heaven 
in  its  clearness;  its  vastness,  like  the 
bosom   of  the  sea;     its   variety y   like 
scenes  of  nature. 

JOHN  HENRY  NEWMAN. 

nr^AKE  away  the  Bible  from  us  and 
our  warfare  against  intemperance^ 
and  impurity,  and  oppression,  and  in- 
fidelity, a?id  crime,  is  at  an  end.  We 
have  no  atctkority  to  speak,  no  courage 
to  act. 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON, 

JpOR  many  books  I  care  not,  and  my  store 

Might  now  suffice  me,  though  I  had 

no  more 

Than  God^s  two  Testaments,  and  then  withal 

That  mighty  volume  which  the  world  we 

call:    .     .     . 
Books  which  better  far  instruct  m,e  can 
Than  all  the  other  paper  works  of  man; 
And  some  of  these  I  may  be  reading,  too. 
Where'er  I  come,  whatsoe'er  I  do. 

GEORGE  WITHER. 
176 


APPE/NDIX. 

177 


f^  NE  of  the  most  thrilling  incidents 
in  the  War  of  1812  was  the  bom- 
bardment of  Fort  McHeyiry.  As  dark- 
7iess  settled  dow7i,  it  left  our  flag  still 
floating.  The  night  was  made  hideous 
by  the  glare  of'^  bombs  bursting  in  airT 
Anxiety  drove  sleep  froyn  the  eyes  of 
patriots.  They  yearjied  for  the  7norn- 
ing,  and  yet  dreaded  its  revelaiioji. 
But  when  the  daw7i  came,  they  beheld 
with  joy  that  the  ''flag  was  still 
there'^ — the  fort  had  ivithstood  its  foes  / 
There  stands  the  Bible^  the  citadel  of 
our  faith.  Enemies  open  upon  it  their 
broadsides.  So^neiimes  Christians  al- 
viost  despair.  But  when  the  smoke 
rolls  away,  though  beneath  its  ram- 
parts is  piled  the  debris  of  human 
opiiiions,  there  siajids  the  Bible,  and, 
floatijig  serenely  from  the  outer  wall, 
the  bajiner,  bearing  this  device  :  **  The 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 

it:'  DR.  DAVID  H.  MOORE. 

178 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  BIBLE- 
LESSON  SgSTEM. 
■♦■ 
IT  is  significant  that  a  business 
'  man  and  a  bishop*  share  the  laurel 
wreath  as  inaugurators  of  the  Interna- 
tional System  of  Uniform  Bible  Les- 
sons. When  the  idea  was  first  pro- 
posed in  the  National  Sunday-school 
Convention,  at  Indianapolis,  1872,  a 
delegate  characterized  it  as  impracti- 
cable. In  illustration,  he  told  of  Jef- 
erson's  saw-mill,  on  top  of  a  mountairi: 
"A  good  enough  saw-mill,  but  how 
were  the  logs  to  be  gotten  up  to  itf 
Well,  the  logs  have  come  to  the  mill. 
The  system  is  a  triumphant  success. 
Evangelical  denominations  of  Chris- 
tendom, with  but  small  exception, 
have  adopted  it.  The  scheme  is  af- 
fecting deeply,  and  in  a  salutary  man- 
ner, our  current  Christian  life.     It  is 

*B.  F.  Jacobs,  Esq.,  and  Bishop  John  H.  Vin- 
cent. 

179 


i8o  Ctppen^tf* 


producing  some  blessed  phenomena; 
notably,  practical  Christian  unity,  a 
prodigious  and  excellent  Bible-litera- 
ture, and  such  general  and  thorough 
study  of  the  blessed  Word  as  the  world 
has  never  seen  before. 

A  few  figures  show  the  wideness  of 
the  influence  of  this  system,  now  be- 
ginning the  second  quarter-century  of 
its  history. 

The  International  Lessons  are  now 
practically  adopted  by  the  Sunday- 
school  world,  in  which,  according  to 
the  last  census,  there  were  218,562 
schools,  2,229,728  ofiicers  and  teach- 
ers, and  20,168,933  scholars.*  In  the 
United  States,  enough  teachers'  helps 
upon  the  current  lessons  are  published 
to  supply  each  of  the  million  teachers 
with  two  of  different  kinds;  and  of 
scholars'  helps,  one  each  to  8,500,000. 
The  aggregate  of  leaflets  is  485,000,000 
copies  per  annum.^  The  aggregate  cir- 
culation of  evangelical  weekly  papers 


*Iyast  World's  Sunday-school  Convention, 
St.  lyouis,  1893. 

t  Seventh  International  Sunday-school  Con- 
vention, St.  Ivouis,  1893. 


Ctppenbty.  i8i 

^ 

is  2,479,000  per  annum.*  Almost 
without  exception,  these  periodicals 
devote  some  space,  more  or  less,  to 
the  current  lesson.  An  increasing 
number  of  secular  newspapers,  daily 
and  weekly,  are  doing  the  same. 


*  Evan's  Standard  I,ist  of  Evangelical  Peri- 
odicals. 


THE  BIBLE  SOCIETIES  AND  THE 

DIFFCISION  OF  THE  WORD. 

•♦< 

5EVERAIv  Bible  Societies  were  in 
evidence  in  Europe  before  the 
opening  of  this  century.  They  were, 
however,  limited  in  resources  and 
sphere  of  operation.  In  1804  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was 
founded.  It  has  proved  "the  greatest 
agency  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Word 
of  God."  In  its  first  ninety-two  years 
It  distributed  147,366,669  copies.  In 
fhe  making  of  translations  and  ver- 
sions for  use  in  mission-fields,  and 
donations  to  the  same,  printing, 
binding,  colportage,  and  general  ad- 
ministration, the  princely  sum  of  over 
$50,000,000  has  been  expended  by 
this  Society  since  its  inception. 

The  American  Bible  Society,  the 
next  greatest  association  of  this 
kind,  was  organized  in  18 16,.  In  the 
first  eighty  years  of  its  history  it  dis- 
tributed 61,705,841  copies  in  about 
one  hundred  languages  and  dialects. 
182 


dppenbiy.  183 
4 

There  are  upwards  of  seventy  other 
Bible  Societies  in  the  world,  besides 
several  thousand  Auxiliary  Societies. 
It  is  estimated  that  their  aggregate 
issues,  previous  to  April,  1897,  amount 
to  more  than  257,000,000  copies. 
F.  M.  Rains  asserts  that  the  Bible  is 
now  translated  into  a  sufl&cient  num- 
ber of  languages  to  make  it  accessible 
to  nine-tenths  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world. 


IGNORANCE    RESPECTING    THE 
BIBLE. 


T^HE  Bible  is  studied  in  a  certain 
*  one  of  our  colleges  one  hour  a 
week  during  the  larger  part  of  the 
four  years  of  the  course.  At  Xhe  first 
exercise  of  the  years  1894-95  of  the 
freshman  class,  I  determined  to  gather 
up  evidence  as  to  what  the  men  knew 
of  the  Bible.  At  this  first  recitation, 
thirty-four  men  were  present.  On 
the  blackboard  of  the  room  I  wrote 
out  twenty- two  extracts  from  Tenny- 
son. Each  of  these  extracts  had  an 
allusion  to  some  Scriptural  scene  or 
truth.  Each  man  was  provided  with 
paper,  and  was  asked  to  explain  each 
allusion.  The  twenty-two  selections 
which  were  made  are  as  follows : 

"  My  sin  was  a  thorn 
Among  the  thorns  that  girt  Thy  brow." 
— '■'Supposed  Confessions.^* 
"As  manna  on  my  wilderness." — Ibid, 

184 


Clppenbiy.  185 
^ 

"That  God  would  move, 
And  strike  the  hard,  hard  rock,  and  thence. 
Sweet  in  their  utmost  bitterness. 
Would  issue  tears  of  penitence." — /did. 
"Ivike  that  strange  angel  which  of  old 
Until  the  breaking  of  the  light 
Wrestled  with  wandering  Israel." 

—"  To " 

"  Like  Hezekiah's,  backward  runs 
The  shadow  of  my  days." 

—''Will  Waterproof:' 
"Joshua's  moon  in  Ajalon." 

— ''Locks ley  Hall:' 
"A  heart  as  rough  as  Esau's  hand," 
— "  Godiva:' 
"  Gash  thyself,  priest,  and  honor  thy  brute 
Baal."  —"Alymer's  Field:' 

"  Ruth  amid  the  fields  of  corn:'— Ibid. 
"Pharaoh's  darkness." — Ibid. 
"A  Jonah's  gourd 
Up  in  one  night,  and  due  to  sudden  sun." 
— "The  Princess:' 
"Stiff  as  Ivot's  wif e."-^Ibid. 
"Arimathsean  Joseph."—"  T/ie  Holy  GraiL" 
"  For  I  have  flung  thee  pearls,  and  find  thee 

swine."        — The  Last  Tournament." 
"  Perhaps,  like  him  of  Cana  in  Holy  Writ, 
Our  Arthur  kept  his  best  until  the  last." 
— "  The  Holy  Graii:' 
"And  marked  me  even  as  Cain." 

— "  Queen  Mary.** 


i86  CXppenbty, 

^ 

"  The  Church  on  Peter's  Rock.''— Ibid. 
"  IvCt  her  eat  dust  like  the  serpent,  and  be 
driven  out  of  her  Paradise." 

— "  Becket:' 

"A  whole  Peter's  sheet." — Ibid. 
"  The  godless  Jephtha  vows  his  child.  .  .  . 
To  one  cast  of  the  dice." 

— ^^  Early  Spring.'' 

"A  Jacob's  ladder  falls."—"  The  Flight:' 
"  Follow  Light  and  do  the  Right — for  man 
can  half  control  his  doom — 
Till  you  find  the  deathless  Angel  seated 

in  the  vacant  tomb." 
— "  Locksley  Hall,  Sixty  Years  After:' 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  allusions 
contained  in  these  extracts  are  not  at 
all  recondite ;  one  might,  indeed,  have 
chosen  selections  which  do  con- 
tain recondite  illusions.  For  instance, 
one  might  have  asked  the  class  to 
explain  this  line,  taken  from  "The 
Palace  of  Art:" 

"One  was  the  Tishbite  whom  the  raven 
fed." 

Or  one  might  have  taken  these  lines 
from  "A  Dream  of  Fair  Women:" 

"  Moreover  it  is  written  that  my  race 
Hewed  Ammon  hip  and  thigh  from  Aroer 
On  Arnon  unto  Minnith." 


Ctppenbty.  187 


But  the  allusions  that  were  selected 
are  of  the  more  common  sort. 

And  now  let  me  ask,  Who  and  what 
were  the  men  who  were  asked  to  ex- 
plain these  allusions?  They  were 
young  men  of  about  twenty  years  of 
age,  born  in  the  northern  part  of 
Ohio,  or  in  the  central  part  of  New 
York  State,  or  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania. Every  one  was  born  in  this 
country  excepting  one,  who  was  born 
in  lyondon.  They  were  the  sons  of 
lawyers,  preachers,  teachers,  mer- 
chants, and  farmers.  Every  one,  ex- 
cept one,  expressed  himself  as  hold- 
ing an  ecclesiastical  affiliation,  and 
more  than  half  were  associated  with 
two  Churches  which  are  supposed 
specially  to  represent  an  intelligent 
knowledge  of  the  Bible.  Of  the 
number,  nine  were  Congregational- 
ists  and  Presbyterians  each,  five  were 
Methodist,  three  were  Baptists,  two 
were  of  the  Reformed  Church,  two 
were  Jews,  and  one  each  belonged  to 
the  Free  Baptist,  the  Unitarian,  and 
the    Roman   Catholic   Churches,  and 


i88               Clppenbty. 
■»■ 

one,  as  has  been  said,  indicated  no 
ecclesiastical  relation. 

And  what  did  the  men  thus  born 
and  bred  and  trained  know  of  the 
Scriptural  scenes  and  truths  ex- 
pressed in  these  verses  of  Tennyson? 
I  venture  to  give  the  record  just  as 
it  stands.  Nine  failed  to  understand 
the  quotation: 

"My  sin  was  a  thorn 
Among  the  thorns  that  girt  Thy  brow." 

Eleven  failed  to  apprehend  the 
**  manna  on  my  wilderness."  Six- 
teen were  likewise  ignorant  of  the 
significance  of  striking  the  rock. 
Sixteen,  also,  knew  nothing  about 
the  wrestling  of  Jacob  and  the  angel. 
No  less  than  thirty-two  had  never 
heard  of  the  shadow  turning  back  on 
the  dial  for  Hezekiah's  lengthening 
life.  Twenty-six  were  ignorant  of 
"Joshua's  moon."  Nineteen  failed 
to  indicate  the  peculiar  condition  of 
Esau's  hand.  Twenty-two  were  un- 
able to  explain  the  allusion  to  Baal. 
Nineteen  had  apparently  never  read 
the  idyl  of  Ruth  and  Boaz.  Eighteen 
failed    to    indicate    the    meaning    of 


Clppen6ty.  189 


"Pharaoh's  darkness.  Twenty-eight 
were  laid  low  by  the  question  about 
Jonah's  gourd.  Nine,  and  nine  only, 
were  unable  to  explain  the  allusion 
to  Lot's  wife.  Twenty-three  did  not 
understand  who  "Arimathaean  Jo- 
seph "  was.  Twenty-two,  also,  had  not 
read  the  words  of  Christ  sufficiently 
to  explain,  "  For  I  have  flung  thee 
pearls  and  find  thee  swine."  Twenty- 
four  had  apparently  not  so  read  the 
account  of  Christ's  first  miracle  as  to 
be  able  to  explain  the  reference. 
Eleven  did  not  understand  the  mark 
which  Cain  bore.  Twenty-five  were 
as  ignorant  as  a  heathen  of  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Church  on  Peter. 
Twelve,  and  twelve  only,  had  not 
gathered  up  knowledge  sufficient  to 
indicate  certain  truths  about  the  ser- 
pent in  Eden.  No  less  then  twenty- 
seven  were  paralyzed  by  the  allusion, 
"A  whole  Peter's  sheet."  Twenty- 
four  were  unable  to  write  anything  as 
to  Jephtha's  vow.  Eleven  only,  how- 
ever, were  struck  dumb  by  the  allu- 
sion to  Jacob's  ladder.  But  sixteen 
were  able  to  write  a  proper  explana- 


I90  Clppen6tj. 

■♦■ 

tion  of  "  the  deathless  angel  seated  in 
the  vacant  tomb."  In  a  word,  to  each 
of  these  thirty-four  men,  twenty-two 
questions  were  put,  which  would  de- 
mand seven  hundred  and  forty-eight 
answers.  The  record  shows  that  out 
of  a  possible  seven  hundred  and 
forty- eight  correct  answers,  only 
three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  were 
given. — ''A  College  President^''  in  the 
Indepefident, 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   TEXT-BOOK. 


jjl  S  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  the  American  Society  of  Re- 
ligious Education  —  one  of  whose 
aims  it  is  to  increase  the  study  of  the 
Bible— on  the  subject  of  "The  Bible 
in  College  and  University,"  about 
the  last  of  October  and  the  first  of 
November,  1895, 1  issued  seventy-one 
circulars,  propounding  the  following 
questions : 

'*i.  Is  the  Bible  used  as  a  text- 
book in  your  institution?  If  so, 
please  state  how  much  time  is  given. 

**2.  Are  there  any  organized  Bible- 
reading  classes  among  your  students? 

"3.  Is  the  interest  in  the  Bible 
among  your  students  on  the  increase? 

"  4.  Can  you  make  any  helpful  or 
stimulating  suggestions  by  which  to 
increase  the  interest  of  college  stu- 
dents in  the  Bible? 

"  5.  Are  you  willing  to  co-operate 
in  an  effort  in  behalf  of  the  Bible  in 
the  college? 

**  6.  Can  our  Society  assist  you  on 
this  matter  in  any  way?" 

191 


192  appenbty, 


I  received  forty-one  answers,  mostly 
immediate,  and  from  the  hand  of  the 
presidents  of  the  institutions  ad- 
dressed. The  following  is  the  sub- 
stance of  the  replies  from  some  of 
the  New  England  colleges. 

President  Andrews,  Brown  Uni- 
versity : 

"  In  Brown,  the  Bible  is  the  basis 
of  eleven  courses  of  study,  each  cov- 
ering three  hours  a  week  for  one- 
third  of  a  year.  There  are  several 
voluntary  Bible-classes  among  the 
students.  The  interest  in  the  Bible 
among  the  students  is  decidedly 
increasing.  The  interest  of  col- 
lege students  in  the  study  of  the  Bi- 
ble may  be  stimulated  by  having  it 
systematically  taught  by  competent 
Bible  scholars.  The  president  would 
gladly  aid  in  any  effort  to  promote 
the  systematic  study  of  the  Bible  in 
the  college  or  elsewhere." 

President  Gates,  Amherst: 

"Amherst  College  is  one  of  the  in- 
stitutions which  led  the  way  in  the 
systematic  study  in  our  colleges  of 
the    Bible,    as    a    regular   text-book. 


Ctppenbtj.  193 

■♦ 
Besides  the  four  Bible-classes  main- 
tained and  taught  by  members  of  the 
Faculty  for  the  study  of  the  Bible 
with  reference  to  direct  spiritual  re- 
sults, the  Department  of  Biblical  I^it- 
erature  is  fully  equipped  and  organ- 
ized. This  elective  ranks  in  junior 
and  senior  year  with  the  other  elec- 
tives  in  the  course,  and  is  chosen,  by 
from  ten  to  forty  men  in  each  class." 
President  Hyde,  Bowdoin  College: 

"  I  am  happy  to  say  that  one  term 
of  freshman  year,  four  hours  a  week, 
is  devoted  to  the  study  of  one  of  the 
Gospels  in  Greek,  as  a  basis  for  the 
study  of  a  life  of  Christ.  There 
are  organized  classes  for  the  study 
of  the  Bible.  I  think  the  inter- 
est is  on  the  increase.  Have  no 
suggestions  to  make,  but  we  should 
be  glad  of  help  in  this  matter  from 
any  source." 

President  Kliot,  Harvard: 

"  I  do  not  think  the  Bible  is  used  as 
a  text-book,  in  the  sense  in  which 
you  use  the  word.  In  our  Divinity 
School  we  have   courses  on  the  Old 


194  Ctppen6ij, 


and  New  Testaments,  Church  His- 
tory, Comparative  Religion,  Sociol- 
ogy, and  Theology;  all  of  which 
courses,  with  insignificant  exceptions, 
can  be  counted  toward  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  The  Divinity 
School  is  undenominational,  no  de- 
nomination having  at  this  time  more 
than  one-third  of  the  students.  The 
Bible-classes  for  students  are  con- 
ducted by  pastors  of  neighboring 
Churches  in  Cambridge,  and  are  or- 
ganized in  the  several  religious  so- 
cieties of  the  university.  As  to  the 
best  way  of  promoting  an  interest  in 
the  study  of  the  Bible,  it  is  done  here 
by  maintaining  stated  interesting  re- 
ligious services  in  the  university 
chapel  every  week-day  morning,  and 
every  Sunday  evening  and  Thursday 
afternoon  during  the  winter,  the  attend- 
ance on  which  is  wholly  voluntary. 
I  should  not  approve  of  using  the 
English  Bible  as  a  text-book  in  or- 
dinary weekly  instruction  in  large  het- 
erogeneous classes.  I  think  it  has 
been  abundantly  demonstrated  that 
it  is  not  a  good  way  to  use  the  Bible. 


^ 

The  conditions  here  are  somewhat  pe- 
culiar, inasmuch  as  the  university  con- 
tains representatives  of  almost  every 
possible  religious  belief;  and  no  sin- 
gle denomination  is  represented  by 
more  than  one-sixth  of  the  whole 
number  of  students.  The  teachers, 
also,  are  of  many  denominations." 
President  Carter,  Williamstown : 
"The  Bible  is  not  used  as  a  text- 
book in  our  institution;  I  can  not 
say  the  interest  in  the  Bible  among 
our  students  is  on  the  increase. 
There  are  organized  Bible-classes, 
taught  by  the  professors,  but  they 
are  generally  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. I  can  not  suggest  any  method  of 
increasing  the  interest  in  the  Bible 
among  college  students.  My  belief 
is  that  there  should  be,  in  every  col- 
lege, elective  courses  in  Bible  study. 
We  offer  such  a  course  every  year; 
but  the  gentleman  who  conducts  it 
required  rather  severe  work  of  his 
class  the  first  year,  and  the  students 
have  been  shy  of  it  ever  since.  Where 
the  college  is  small  and  the  religious 


196  appenbiy. 


sentiment  and  tradition  is  strong,  I  see 
no  reason  why  the  Bible  should  not 
be  required  as  part  of  the  curriculum. 
1  should  certainly  be  glad  to  see  the 
study  of  the  Bible  everywhere  in- 
creased. I  do  not  know  that  your 
Society  can  do  much,  except  to 
awaken  a  general  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject." 

President  Warren,  Boston  Univer- 
sity: 

"Elective  courses  in  Bible  study 
are  offered  in  connection  with  our  Col- 
lege of  I^iberal  Arts,  more  this  year 
than  ever  before.  The  number  elect- 
ing them  is  not  large,  but  perhaps 
never  as  large  as  now.  A  very  high 
percentage  of  our  students  belong  to 
the  different  evangelical  Churches; 
but  I  do  not  know  of  any  organized 
Bible-reading  among  them,  except 
such  as  they  carry  on  in  their  differ- 
ent Sunday-schools  and  Bible  courses 
in  the  Churches  where  they  worship." 

President  Chase,  Bates  College: 

"We  give  one  hour  a  week  to  a 
systematic     Bible    study    by  all  the 


Ctppettbiir.  197 

members  of  the  freshman  class.  The 
work  is  laid  out  by  the  use  of  topical 
questions,  requiring  several  hours* 
reading  of  the  Bible  itself,  and  of 
works  dealing  with  Bible  subjects. 
We  spend  an  hour  each  week  dis- 
cussing the  results  obtained  from  the 
study.  The  interest  in  Bible  study  is  de- 
cidedly on  the  increase.  There  are  vol- 
untary classes  carried  on  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  Young  Men's  and  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations.  Our 
method  is  largely  an  attempt  to  show 
the  relation  of  Bible  history  and 
teaching  to  the  moral  questions  of 
our  own  time.  Our  Bible  study  is 
really  the  study  of  Christian  ethics. 
We  find  our  students  greatly  inter- 
ested. Would  be  glad  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  literature  and 
methods  of  your  Society.  We  use 
the  International  Sunday-school  Ivcs- 
sons,  and  have  frequent  lectures  on 
the  Bible." 

From  Mount  Holyoke  College  we 
have  this  response: 

"  The  Bible  is  used  as  a  text-book 
in  our  college.     The  time  given  is 


198  dppenbti 


one  hour  a  week  for  four  years^ — 144 
hours  in  all ;  and  it  is  required  work. 
There  are  five  organized  Bible-reading 
classes  among  our  students;  also, 
three  organized  classes  for  mission 
study,  which  at  present  take  the  place 
of  other  Bible-classes.  The  interest 
in  Bible  study  is  on  the  increase. 
The  best  way  of  increasing  the  inter- 
est in  Bible  study  is  the  use  of  the 
highest  methods  of  instruction." 
President  Irvine,  Wellesley: 
"  The  Bible  has  been  used  as  a  text- 
book in  this  college  ever  since  its 
opening.  The  present  requirement  is 
that  of  four  hours  out  of  the  fifty- 
nine  required  for  the  Bachelor  of  Arts 
degree.  Regularly  organized  classes 
for  the  study  of  the  Bible  have  been 
formed  by  the  students  among  their 
own  numbers.  Interest  in  Bibie  study 
among  our  students  is  certainly  not 
declining.  We  think  that  the  his- 
tory of  the  Bible  study  in  this  col- 
lege proves  that  such  is  generally 
interesting,  when  ably  conducted. 
The  friendly  interest  of  your  Society 


Ctppenbtf.  199 


is,  in   itself,  an  encouragement  and 
assistance." 

On  the  whole,  this  report  shows 
that  the  authorities  of  our  colleges 
and  universities  are  alive  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  doing,  each  in  his  sphere, 
and  according  to  his  best  judgment, 
what  seems  wisest  in  the  premises. 
Certainly,  the  Bible  is  not  ignored 
or  totally  neglected.  There  is  a  great 
advance  upon  the  condition  of  things 
a  generation  ago;  and  the  evident 
trend  is  toward  more  study  of  the 
Bible,  if  not  toward  putting  the  Bible 
into  the  regular  curriculum.— /*r<?^2- 
dent  Rankin,  in  the  Independent. 


A  LAUREATE'S  DEBT  TO  THE 
BIBLE. 


I  ORD  TENNYSON'S  debt  to  the 
"■*  Bible  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
incidents  in  the  history  of  letters. 
It  sustains  Professor  Huxley's  admis- 
sion that  the  Bible  has  been  woven 
into  all  that  is  best  in  English  litera- 
ture. There  are  460  quotations  or 
allusions  in  the  laureate's  works— 201 
from  the  Old  Testament,  259  from  the 
New  Testament.  These  quotations  are 
from  52  out  of  the  66  books. 


A  PRAgER  OVER  THE  BIBLE. 


^^  HK  following  prayer  was  prefixed 
■  to  some  editions  of  the  early 
Knglish  versions  of  the  Bible : 

"  O  gracious  God  and  most  merciful 
Father,  which  hast  vouchsafed  us  the 
rich  and  precious  jewel  of  thy  Holy 
Word,  assist  us  by  thy  Spirit,  that  it 
may  be  written  in  our  hearts ;  to  our 
everlasting  comfort,  to  reprove  us,  to 
renew  us  according  to  thine  own  im- 
age; to  build  us  up,  and  edify  us 
unto  the  perfect  building  of  thy 
Christ;  sanctifying  and  increasing  in 
us  all  heavenly  virtues.  Grant  this, 
O  Heavenly  Father,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
sake.    Amen." 

20I 


^yWfi"  Bible  is  either  the  most  adven- 
•*  turous  and  astounding  fraud  that 
has  ever  gained  currency  among  men^ 
or  the  most  sublime  and  momentous 
system  of  verities  that  has  at  any  time 
appeared  upon  earth.  If  the  former^ 
it  ought  not  to  be  impossible  to  expose 
the  imposture  ;  if  the  latter y  it  ought  to 
be  possible  to  command  for  it  the  re- 
spect of  unprejudiced  reason  and  the 
acceptance  of  rational  faith.  That 
after  so  many  ages  it  is  still  in  debate^ 
mighty  to  a  superficial  observer ^  seem 
to  be  to  the  discredit  of  its  claim.  A 
more  astute  and  careful  judge  would 
find  the  explanation  to  consist ^  in  party 
of  the  unique  nature  and  intrinsic  dif- 
ficulty of  the  claim  itself  y  andy  in  party 
of  the  peculiar  relations  of  the  jury  to 
the  question  in  dispute. 

—BISHOP  RANDOLPH  S.  FOSTER. 


INDEXES. 


203 


]\^  AY  we  not  discover  in  the  for- 
tunes of  this  perhaps  latest  of  all 
the  sacred  writers^  save  fohn,  a  sig- 
nifcent  type  of  the  fortunes  of  that 
inspired  Word  on  which  we  have 
been  dwelling  f  Ofttimes  has  it  been 
dragged  over  the  sharp  rocks  of  hostile 
criticism^  ofttimes  across  the  hot  sands 
of  scorching  sarcasm^  ofttimes  through 
the  mire  of  filthy  jesting ;  but  God 
has  been  with  it.  It  refuses  to  die. 
Even  when  its  enemies  have  fancied  it 
finally  and  forever  dispatched^  it  has 
erelong  reasserted  its  indestructible  vi- 
tality,  overtoppling  earthborn  fanes  of 
superstition^  and  replacing  them  with 
temples  not  made  with  hands.  Even 
the  works  of  nature  are  frail ^  caducous  y 
and  transitory  when  compared  with  this 
inspired  Book.  The  grass  withereth, 
the  flower  fadethy  but  the  Word  of  our 
God  abideth  forever. 
^PRESIDENT  WILLIAM  F.  WARREN. 


*  Tradition  says  effort   to  martyr   St. 
Mark,  by  dragging  him  behind  a  chariot, 
failed. 
204 


GENERAL  INDEX. 
■♦■ 

Arnold,  Matthew i,  2,  3 

Addison,  Joseph 4 

Augustine,  St. 5 

Adams,  John 6 

Adams,  John  Quincy 7,  8,  9 

Alexander,  I,  Czar 10 

Ames,  Fisher 11 

Arbuthnot,  Alexander 12 

Anonymous 13,  17,  20 

Abbott,  layman 14 

Ad  Fidem  (F.  E.  Burr) 15 

Atterbury,  Francis 16 

Arrowsmith,  John 18 

Alexander,  Archibald, 19 

Bunsen,  Chevalier 21 

Beattie,  James 22 

Bengal,  J.  A 23 

Bartol,  C.  A 24 

Bruce,  Michael 25 

Brown,  J 26 

Berridge 27 

Bushe,  Chief  Justice 28 

Bellows,  Henry  W 29 

Briggs,  Charles  A 30 

Beard,  Dr 31,  32 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward 33,  34 

Bishop  Boone's  Assistant 35 

Billings,  Josh 36 

Bacon,  I^ord 37 

Boyle,  Robert 38,  39,  40,  41,  42 

Bonar,  H 272 

Bethune,  George  W .273 

Booth,  Maud  B .274 

205 


2o6  <5eneral  '^ribz^c. 

»■ 

Bradish,  I^uther 275 

Butler,  Benjamin  F 276 

Cowper,  William 43,  44,  45 

Clarke,  James  Freeman 46 

Channing,  William  Ellery 47,  48 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor 49,  50,  51,  52 

Clinton,  De  Witt 53 

Clark,  Samuel 54 

Cheever,  George  B 55 

Cecil,  Richard 56,  57 

Cass,  I^ewis 58 

Collins,  William 59 

Carlyle,  Thomas 60,  61,  62,  63 

Caine,  Hall 64 

Clulow,  W.  B 65 

Conway,  M.  D 66 

Cummings,  Joseph 277 

Dryden,  John 67,  68 

De  Tocqueville,  Charles  Henry 69 

Dwight,  Timothy 70 

Dana,  James  Dwight 71,  72 

Dawson,  Chancellor 73 

Diderot,  Denis 74 

D'Aubigne,  Merle 75 

Depew,  Chauncy  M ^ 76 

Dana,  Charles  A 77 

De  Stael,  Baron,  Jils 278 

Ewald,  G.  H.  A 78 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo 79 

Edward  VI 80 

Everett,  Edward 81 

Ebers,  Georg 82 

Evans,  Professor  I^.  J 83,  84,  85 

Ecce  Deus  (Joseph  Parker) 86 


(general  ^nbejc.  207 
4. 

Franklin,  Benjamin 87,  88 

Flavel,  J 89 

Fawcett,  John 90 

Field,  Kugene 91 

Faber,  F.  W 92 

Froude,  James  Anthony 93 

Frelinghuysen,  Theodore 279 

Gregory  I,  The  Great 94 

GilfiUan,  George 95,  96 

Guizot,  F.  P.  G 97 

Grant,  U.  S 98 

Garibaldi 99 

Gladstone,  W.  K 100,  loi,  309 

Greeley,  Horace 102 

Goethe,  J.  W.  von 103,  104,  105,  106 

Gibbons,  Cardinal 107 

Guyot,  A.  H 108 

Gladden,  Washington 109 

Griffin,  George 280 

Greenleaf,  Simon 281 

Grotius,  Hugo 282 

Herbert,  George no,  in 

Howells,  R 112 

Hopkins,  Mark 113 

Hervey,  James 114 

Hall,  John 115 

Hamilton,  James 116,  117 

Horsley,  Samuel n8 

Huxley,  Professor 119,  120,  121 

Hoare,  Canon 122 

Humboldt,  Baron 123 

Holland,  J.  G 124 

Hornblower,  John  C 283 

Harris,  John 125 

Hallam,  Henry 126 


2o8  (general  3^^^l* 

■♦■ 

Hooker,  Richard r27 

Heine,  Heinrich 128,  129 

Hervey,  I,ord  Arthur 130 

Hall,  Robert 131 

Herschel,  Sir  John 132 

Hale,  Edward  Everett 133 

Hugo,  Victor 134 

Indian  Convert 284 

Jay,  John,  Chief  Justice 135 

Jackson,  Andrew 136 

Jefferson,  Thomas 137 

Jones,  Sir  William 138 

Joubert,  F 139 

Johnson,  Samuel 140 

Jewell,  John 141 

Kempis,  Thomas  a 142 

Kent,  Chancellor  James 143,  285 

Kitto,  John 144 

I^incoln,  A 145 

I,ee,  Robert  E 146 

I^iddon,  Canon 147 

Ivcvy,  Rabbi  J.  Leonard 148  ' 

I,andor,  Walter  Savage 149 

I^ange,  J.  P 150 

lyocke,  John 151,  152 

Lightfoot,  J.  B 153 

Loomis,  Colonel 286 

I/Umpkin,  Joseph  Henry 287 

Ivcask,  William 154,  155,  156 

Milton,  John 157,  158,  289 

Macaulay,  I^ord 159,  160 

Melville,  Henry ; 161,  162 

Mitchell,  O.  M. 163 


general  3^^^?-  209 
■♦■ 

Morris,  H.  W 164 

McCheyne,  Robert  M 165 

Maufy,  I^ieutenant 166 

Murphy,  Professor 167 

Muller,  George 168 

Miller,  Hugh 169 

Munger,  Theodore  T 170 

Mitchell,  Donald  G 171 

Mcllvaine,  Charles  P 288 

Mcl^ain,  John 290 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac 172,  173 

Novalis  (von  Hardenberg) 174 

Nichol,  R.  B 175 

Nott,  Kliphalet 176 

Napoleon  1 177,  178,  179,  180 

Oliphant,  Mrs i8r 

Oberlin,  Jean  Frederick 291 

Pope,  Alexander 182 

Payson,  Edward. 183,  184 

Phillips,  Wendell 185 

Pollok,  Robert 186,  187,  188 

Parker,  Theodore 189,  190,  191 

Pellico,  Silvio 192  ' 

Pedro,  Emperor  Dom 193 

Porteus,  Bishop 194 

Penn,  William 292 

Pinckney,  H.  L, 293 

Porter,  Noah 195 

Parker,  Joseph 196 

Peel,  Robert 294 

Peabody,  A.  P 197 

Plenary  Council 198 

Quarles,  Francis 199 


2IO             ©cneral  3"^^^- 
.+. 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques 200,  201 

Rochester,  Earl  of 202 

Rush,  Benjamin •  .203 

Romaine,  William 204 

Robertson,  Frederick  W 205 

Rogers,  Henry 206,  207,  208 

Ruskin,  John 209,  210,  211,  212,  213 

Rives,  William  C 295 

Steele,  Anne 214 

Stier,  Rudolph 215 

Stanley,  A.  P 216 

Stalker,  James 217 

Seward,  William  H 218 

Spurgeon,  Charles  H 219 

Steele 220 

Sun,  New  York 221 

Simpson,  Matthew 222 

Selden,  John 223 

SchaflF,  Philip 224 

Swift,  Dean 225 

Story,  Chief  Justice 226 

Skinner,  Commodore 300 

Silliman,  B.  Sr 301 

Southard,  Samuel  I, 302 

Sargeant,  John 298 

Stephanus,  Henry 227 

Smyth,  Newman 228 

Smith,  Vance 229 

Storrs,  Richard  S 230,  231 

Scott,  Sir  Walter 232,  233,  234,  235 

Swain,  David 299 

Shaftesbury,  Karl  of 236,  237,  238 

Seaman,  An  English 296 

Smith,  John 297 

Tennyson,  Alfred 239 

Tillotson,  Archbishop 240 

Taylor,  Isaac 241,  242 


©eneral  3"^^?-  211 
•♦• 

Thomson,  Edward 243 

Trail,  W [[244 

Taylor,  W.  M 245 

Thompson,  John 303 

Taylor,  Zachary 304 

Transcript,  Boston  Evening 246 

Tribune,  New  York • 247 

Times,  lyondon 248 

Taylor,  Bayard 249 

Van  Dyke,  H.  J 250 

Webster,  Daniel.  .251,  252,  253,  254,  255,  256,  257 

World,  Christian 258 

Watson,  T 259 

Wayland,  Francis 260 

Whittier,  John  G 261 

Wright,  Wiliam 262 

Watts,  Isaac 263 

Watson,  Richard 264 

Whichcote,  Benjamin 265 

Wallace,  Alexander 266 

Winthrop,  R.  C 267 

Wordsworth,  Bishop 268 

Wilson,  John 264 

William,  E^mperor 270 

Washburn,  Emory 305 

Wilt,  William '. '.  ^306 

Wilberforce,  William 307 

Walworth,  R.  H .308 

Young,  Edward 271 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 
■♦■ 

Antiquity,  144,  181,  194,  240,  299. 
Authenticity  and  Integrity,  172,  242,  282,  309. 
Authority,  Supreme,  226. 
All,  Bible  for,  51,  66,  74,  76,  94,  100,  115,  119,  i2q 

134,  143,  147,  189,  191,  277. 
Accuracy,  Historical,  18,  28,  82,  130,  172. 

Circulation,  Advantages  of  General,  306. 
Civilization,  The  Bible  and,  52, 106,  131,  148, 191, 

213,  217,  218,  247,  275,  278,  290,  293,  301,  308. 
Character,  Effect  upon,  7,  14,  16,  23,  25,  26,  30, 

33.  39,  53,  129,  140, 162,  175,  176, 192,  214,  215, 

218,  240,  284,  296,  300. 
Criticism,  Higher,  and  Infidelity,  75,  83,  96,  124, 

206,  217,  228,  247,  250,  262. 
Christ,  Bible  and,  48,  133,  204,  257,  276. 
Classics,  Bible  and,  263,  264,  274. 

Devotion,  Bible  Means  of,  and  Aid  to,  40,  113, 

168,  229,231. 
Duty  of  Giving  Attention,  107,  187,  198. 

Excellence,  General,  6,  8,  10,  20,  22,  31,  38,  41, 
43,  44,  57,  59,  60,  62,  78,  90,  no,  in,  112,  114, 
128,  138,  139,  145,  146,  152,  157,  165,  173,  174, 
185,  187,  191,  201,  205,  214,  222,  224,  233,  234, 
235,  241,  244,  254,  259,  261,  271. 

Examined,  Spirit  in  which  should  be,  45. 

Exploration,  Bible  and,  164,  248. 

Faith  in  and  Respect  for,  36,  97,  103,  104,  221. 

History,  The  Philosophy  of,  170,  179. 

Inexhaustible,  n6,  122,  125,  232. 
Imperishable,  15,  17,  24,  34,  95,  141,  154, 190,  207, 
237,238,  272,  291. 
212 


(topical  3n6ej.  213 
♦ 

Interpretation,  195,  355. 

Indispensable,  1,9,  12,  55,  80,  87,  91,  loi,  150, 
184,  270,  302. 

Liberty,  The  State  and  Personal  ,21,  37,  58,  69, 
81,  86,  88,  98,  99,  102,  136,  137,  143  203,  256, 
260,  294. 

Morality,  Public  and  Private,  153,  161,  177,  216, 

236,  284,  287,  290,  298. 
Mystery,  Not  to  be  Rejected  on  account  of,  155. 

Nature  and  Providence,  lyikeness  of  Bible  to,  57, 

71,  72,  75,  273. 
National  I,ife,  280,  281,  283,  286,  289,  294,  295, 

297.  301,  303,  304- 

Philanthropy,  279. 

Practical  and  Efficient,  42,  120,  122,  126,  131,  146, 
153,  204,  213,  218,  244,  257,  270,  271,  277,  284. 

Revelation,  The  Bible  an  Inspired,  19,  29,  35, 44, 
48,  49,  54,  67,  84,  105,  108,  126,  167,  178,  188, 
196,  208,  220,  230,  292. 

Reading,  Daily,  168,  180,  193,  198,  204,  251,  252. 

Science  and  the  Bible,  132,  163,  166,  169,  273. 

Self-evidencing  Power,  300. 

Style,  Iviterary,  Effect  of  Bible  on,  11,  32,  50,  65, 
64,  68,  ^^,  85,  91,  92,  93, 121,  123, 149,  157,  158, 
159,  160,  171,  182,  197,  209,  210,  211,  212,  213, 
220,  225,  227,  243,  246,  248,  253,  268,  274. 

Sufficiency  of  the  Bible,  135,  151,  306. 

Variety,  156. 

Writings,  Other  Sacred,  and  the  Bible,  46,  109, 
182. 


INDEX  Bg  PROFESSIONS. 


Anonymous,  13,  17,  20. 

Clergymen,  5,  14,  15,  24,  26,  29,  30,  31,  32,  33,  34, 
38,  39»  40,  41,  42,  46,  47,  48,  54,  55,  56,  57,  86, 
89,  90,  92,  94,  107,  109,  114,  115,  116,  117,  118, 
122,  125,  127,  131,  141,  142,  147,  148,  153,  154, 
155,  156,  168,  170,  176,  183,  184,  194,  196,  204, 
205,  216,  217,  219,  222,  225,  228,  230,  231,  240, 
243,  244,  245,  259,  262,  263,  264,  265,  268,  272, 
273,  288,  291. 

Commentators,  14,  23,  144,  150,  167,  215,  282. 

Converts  from  Heathenism,  35,  284. 

College  Presidents  and  Professors,  30,  70,  71,  72, 

83,  84,  85,  113,  195,  197,  224,  260,  281,  299,  301. 
Commanders  in  Army  and  Navy,  58,  98,  99,  136, 

146,  163,  276,  286,  300. 

Evangelist,  274,300. 

Historians,  75,  78,  82,  93,  97,  108,  126. 

Infidels,  74,  128,  129,  200,  201,  202. 

Journalists,  36,  77,  102. 

Jurists,  28,  135,  143,  226,  283,  287,  290. 

I^iterary  Critics  and  Essayists,  i,  2,  3,60,  61,  62 
63,  69,  79,  91,  95,  96,  124,  130,  133,  140,  149, 
159,  160,  164,  171,  174,  181,  206,  207,  208,  209, 
210,  211,  212,  213,  249,  269. 

I^ayman,  280,  303. 

Liberal  Thinkers,  24,  46,  47,  48,  66,  189,  190,  191. 

Novelists,  64,  82,  134. 
Newspapers,  221,  246,  247,  248,  258. 
Orators,  76,  81,  185. 
Orientalists,  138. 
214 


3n5ey  by  professions,       215 
.^ 

Poets,  4, 12,  22,  43,  44,  45,  49,  so,  51,  52,  59,  67, 

68,  79,  103,  104,  105, 106,  no,  III,  128,  129,  139, 
157,  158,  165,  174,  182,  186,  187,  188,  199,  214, 
232,  233,  234,  235,  239,  250,  261,  271,  289. 

Philosophers,  37,  151,  152,  172,  173. 

Philanthropists,  306. 

Physician,  203. 

Rulers,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,80,  98, 136,  137,  145,  177,  178, 
179,  180,  193,  270. 

Statesmen,  6,  7,  8,  9,  11,  58,  87,  88,  100,  loi,  218, 
236,  237,  238,  251,  252,  253,  254,  255,  256,  257, 
275,  279,  292,  293,  294,  295,  297,  298,  299,  302, 
304,  305,  307,  308. 

Scientists,  21,  71,  72,  119,  120,  121,  123,  132,  163, 
166,  169. 


INDEX  Bg  NATIONALITg. 


Great  Britian,  i,  2,  3,  4,  12,  16,  18,  19,  22,  25,  26, 

27,  37,  38,  43,  44,  45,  49,  50,  51,  52,  56,  57,  59, 
60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  67,  68,  80,  86,  89,  90,  92,  93, 
95,  96}  100,  loi,  no,  III,  114,  116,  117,  118, 
119,  120,  121,  122,  126,  127,  130,  131,  132,  138, 
140,  141,  144,  145,  146,  149,  151,  152,  153,  154, 
155,  156,  157,  158,  159.  160,  161,  162,  168,  169, 
172,  173,  181,  182,  186,  187,  188,  194,  196,  202, 
204,  205,  209,  210,  211,  212,  213,  214,  216,  217, 
219,  223,  225,  229,  232,  233,  234,  235,  236,  237, 
238,  239,  240,  241,  242,  244,  248,  259,  263,  264, 
265,  266,  268,  269,  271,  272,  274,  289,  294,  296, 

307,  309- 

America,  6,  7,  8,  9,  11,  14,  15,  24,  28,  29,  30,  33, 
34,  46,  47,  48,  53,  55,  58,  66,  70,  71,  72,  76,  T], 
79,  81,  83,  84,  85,  87,  88,  91,  98,  102,  107,  109, 
113,  115,  124,  133,  135,  136,  137,  143,  147,  148, 
163,  164,  166,  170,  171,  176,  183,  184,  185,  189, 
190,  191,  195,  197,  198,  203,  218,  221,  222,  224, 
226,  228,  230,  231,  243,  245,  246,  247,  249,  251, 
252,  253,  254,  255,  256,  257,  258,  260,  261,  262, 
273,  275,  276,  277,  279,  280,  281,  283,  284,  286, 
287,  288,  290,  292,  293,  295,  297,  298,  299,  300, 
301,  302,  303,  304,  305,  306,  308. 

Russia,  10. 

France,  69,  74,  97,  134,  139,  I77,  178,  i79,  180,  200, 
201,  278. 

Germany,  21,  22,  78,  82,  103,  104,  105,  106,  123, 
128,  129,  150,  215,  270,  291. 

Holland,  282. 

Brazil,  193. 

Switerland,  75,  108. 

Italy,  94,  99. 
216 


ANNOTATIONS 

217 


^M^^-rf\      r-n4 


''irffiJim .11',?°'°^'^^'  Seminary  Libraries 


1   1012 


01274  1338 


